Los Angeles Times

Back into the Trump vortex America goes, as the president fuels a divisive debate

WASHINGTON - America once again finds itself where it has been so often since the day Donald Trump descended an escalator to a podium at the tower named for him to announce his presidential candidacy: pulled into the vortex of partisanship as a master publicist plays notes of division and dispute.

President Trump's continued stoking of debate over football players kneeling during the national anthem - and the way the subject has dominated public discussion - raised anew the question that surrounds many Trump controversies: Is this part of a plan? Does he believe he gains political advantage from playing off national divisions on topics as fraught as race relations and patriotism? Or does the resulting chaos deliver personal satisfaction to a president who often appears bored with the more humdrum aspects of his post?

Eight months into Trump's presidency, there's no answer.

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Times3 min read
Commentary: USC’s ‘Security Risk’ Rationale To Thwart Peaceful Protest Is Not Justified
During Vietnam War protests, the Nixon administration called them “outside agitators.” Now my university’s provost prefers “participants — many of whom do not appear to be affiliated with USC.” Beyond Andrew Guzman’s misdemeanor of wordiness, the pla
Los Angeles Times3 min readAmerican Government
LZ Granderson: Arizona's Indictment Of Trump Allies Follows A Sordid, Racist History
I've lived and/or worked in 10 states scattered across the country. Arizona was and remains the most complicated. The same state that elected the first openly gay mayor of a large U.S. city is also the state that did not want a federal holiday for Ma
Los Angeles Times3 min readInternational Relations
USC Protests Remain Peaceful Saturday Night After Campus Is Closed; LAPD Calls Off Tactical Alert
Tensions rose on the University of Southern California campus Saturday after pro-Palestinian protesters returned with tents and reestablished an encampment in Alumni Park, where 93 people were arrested on Wednesday. They beat drums and put up banners

Related Books & Audiobooks