American journalist and political analyst Thomas Friedman said that the United States is heading toward a cultural civil war, but this time it is not fortunate that it is not led by a president like Abraham Lincoln.
In an article in The New York Times, Friedman expressed his concern about the future of the upcoming presidential elections, and said that his worst fears about America's future have become a reality now, and he is no longer sure of the Americans' ability to achieve a peaceful transition of power and hold free and fair elections in November.
Friedman criticized US President Donald Trump's handling of the demonstrations sweeping the United States since last week, and said that while America was in a state of disruption, Trump's instinct dictated him to order the peaceful protesters to be attacked with tear gas and pushed by the police so that he could walk to a church Adjacent to the White House and taking a picture in front of it carrying a copy of the Bible.
He pointed out that Trump relapsed the gospel through his behavior, as he did not read a paragraph from him with the aim of hospitalization and did not enter the church, but rather carried him to take a memorial image in an attempt to increase his popularity among the white evangelists.
Friedman asked, "Where do we get the leadership we need to calm the status quo and deal with the underlying causes of the crisis, and lead us safely during the presidential elections to be held this year at least?"
Disappointment
Friedman expressed his disappointment with the Senate Republicans, and said that he had hope three years ago that they would intervene to rein in Trump, but it turned out that that hope was not in order.
Friedman said that the Republican bloc in the Senate is nothing but political brothels, whose members lease themselves to those who will work to keep them in power and secure the economic interests of their rich donors.
He also criticized those he named social media tycoons, especially Mark Zuckerberg, the director of Facebook, who said he had become "Robert Murdoch" his generation, and that he justified his cowardly options by constantly protecting freedom of expression, but his goal is to earn money regardless of the extent to which his platform uses to destroy democracy in America. .
Friedman expressed his hope that principled businessmen in the United States could cooperate to lead a constructive debate to tackle the crisis in the absence of a president who has the capacity and the willingness to do so.
He also praised the positions of some local political officials and their ability to act wisely during the turmoil in the United States today, such as the mayor of Atlanta, Georgia, Keisha Lance Bottoms, who has done a great job in dealing with the crisis of the Corona virus and the riots in her city.
Friedman concluded that the White House is not counting on him to help solve the current crisis, because Trump has made himself part of the problem and therefore we must ignore him to the fullest extent, but we can seek to reach out to the emerging economic sector leaders, businessmen, and political leaders who are preparing to be the solution. .