Teargas and God: President Trump last night said the violence and demonstrations following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis are “acts of domestic terror” shortly before teargas and rubber bullets were deployed to clear his way of peaceful demonstrators for a visit to a damaged church in Washington.

  Rather than take the role of national consoler and conciliator in an uprising of racial turmoil, Trump has chosen to be the combatant-in-chief. Speaking in the White House Rose Garden he said he would respond with an “overwhelming law enforcement presence until the violence has been quelled.”

  Trump threatened that, “If a city or state refuses to take the actions necessary to defend the life and property of their residents, then I will deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them.”

  Demonstrations have spread to at least 144 cities.

  The President said, “As we speak, I am dispatching thousands and thousands of heavily armed soldiers, military personnel and law enforcement officers to stop the rioting, looting, vandalism, assaults and the wanton destruction of property.”

  In a dramatic picture of Trump walking toward St. John’s Church flanked by his daughter, son-in-law, the attorney general, a military official and others, there was not a single black person in his company.

  Earlier, Trump had berated state governors for not being tough enough on rioters and demonstrators. In the recording of a conference call released to the press, Trump told the governors, “You have to do retribution.” He said, “These are terrorists. These are terrorists. And they’re looking to do bad things to our country.”

  Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, a Republican, said later, “At so many times during these past several weeks, when the country needed compassion and leadership the most, it was simply nowhere to be found. Instead we got bitterness combativeness and self-interest.”

  Appearing at the church, Trump waved a Bible over his head.

In the Streets: Gunfire broke out during at least two demonstrations last night and police officers were wounded. In St. Louis, four officers were struck in what was described as a prolonged shootout. Two officers were shot in separate incidents in Las Vegas.

Post Mortem: Two autopsies, one by local government and one private, agreed yesterday that the death of 46-year-old George Floyd at the hands of the police eight days ago in Minneapolis was a homicide … meaning he was killed by other people … but they differed on the fine points of the cause.

  The Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s office said in obscurative language that Floyd had died of “cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression.”

  One cop knelt on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes, long after he was unconscious and possibly dead. 

  A private autopsy commissioned by Floyd’s family said he died of asphyxia caused by compression of his neck and back. In addition to the officer kneeling on neck, two were on his back.

  The medical examiner ruled that Floyd’s death was a homicide but he had “significant” underlying conditions, including hypertensive heart disease, fentanyl intoxication, and recent methamphetamine use.

  Dr Michael Baden, a celebrity among medical examiners who did the private examination, said, “The autopsy shows that Mr. Floyd had no underlying medical problems that caused or contributed to his death. He was in good health.”

The Bulletin Board: The chief of police chief in Louisville, Kentucky, has been fired after the discovery that two police officers involved in the fatal shooting of a man during a protest had not activated their body cameras. The victim was David McAtee, who ran a popular local barbecue. — Mining giant Rio Tinto apologized for blowing up a 46,000-year-old sacred indigenous cave complex to expand an Australian iron ore mine. Thousands of archeological artifacts have been found in the cave, but the good news is Australia will have more iron ore.

From the Front: Linda Tirado, a freelance photographer, activist and author, was shot in the left eye by police Friday while covering the street protests in Minneapolis. She may have permanently lost vision in that eye.

  In the midst of riots over police killings of black Americans, the cops have targeted reporters covering the unrest. Police in Des Moines arrested a local newspaper reporter Sunday charging her with failure to disperse and interference with official acts.  The reporter, Patrice Sahouri, said she was pepper sprayed after identifying herself as a reporter. 

  As President Trump denounces the press as “fake news” and “the enemy of the people,” The NY Times reports that, “Many reporters, photographers and press advocates said the treatment of journalists by police officers in recent days reflected an erosion of trust in the news media that has seeped into law enforcement under President Trump.”

  Reporters are resilient and tough. They do the work to which they have dedicated their lives. Tirado, the photographer, said she was grateful she lost her left eye because she shoots with her right.

Pandemic Party: At least one person who attended a giant Memorial Day pool party at the Lake of the Ozarks has already tested positive for the coronavirus. That pool was probably a toxic soup.

  This morning 105,147 Americans are dead of the coronavirus.

Naming Rights: President Trump has a penchant for pinning insulting names on people he doesn’t like; “Little Marco,” “Fat Jerry,” “Crazy Arnold.”

  Yesterday we asked what Trump would call a President who cowered in the White House bunker while demonstrations were going on outside the fence.

  Here are some reader submissions; Cowering Don, Dodgin’ Don, Bunker Boy, Bunker Bonespurs, Bunker Bitch, and even “Adolph.”

  Our favorite is our own, “Bunker Don.” Sorry, but it’s our candy store.

-30-