Reportedly frustrated over media coverage of his being spirited into a bunker at the White House on Friday night as protests broke out in the nation’s capital, Donald Trump on Monday decided he needed to put on a show.

Trump arranged for heavily armed and armored police to remove peaceful protestors from Lafayette Square in front of the White House – which they did, in a display captured through video and images now likely familiar to most Americans. Rubber bullets, tear gas, shields and batons were used to clear the way for the failed businessman and reality TV performer to stage his latest photo op.

“I am your president of law and order,” he declared from the White House grounds as the violence unfolded, “and an ally of all peaceful protesters.”

Sounds of exploding gas canisters punctuated his remarks as he pledged to deploy the brave men and women of the nation’s military against their fellow citizens – to “dominate the streets,” in his words. Earlier in the day, during a teleconference with the nation’s governors, he had berated state leaders - the same leaders he and his administration have repeatedly left to fend for themselves amid a global pandemic – as “weak” in the face of widespread demonstrations that have emerged following the killing of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minnesota.

Then, accompanied by several of his unscrupulous enablers and hangers-on, Trump paraded out the White House gate to pose for cameras in front of a historic church, cravenly holding up a bible for good measure.

“Is that your bible?” a media member asked, the sounds of emergency sirens audible nearby.

“It’s a bible,” Trump responded.

Until Monday’s cynical display, Trump had been essentially silent with regard to recent events. Unsurprisingly, he has done nothing to reassure a nation desperately in need of steady, empathetic leadership, choosing instead to prioritize his perceived political interest over of the moral imperatives of the moment.

His retreat from the core responsibilities of the office he presently holds makes sense, given that the current situation concerns America’s long history of racial injustice and discrimination.

Trump, after all, made baselessly questioning the legitimacy of the nation’s first African American president the cornerstone of his political rise. And the last time the nation went through such an episode, he went out of his way to vouch for the good character of white supremacists. Those familiar with his biography know his record of racism and xenophobia extends well beyond those disgraceful chapters.

So many aspects of recent events require thoughtful reflection and discussion. Our nation has yet again been made to reckon with its shameful racial legacy and the profound inequities that still characterize the American experience.

It is no different in Rhode Island, a reality made all too clear of late by the disproportionate effect of the COVID-19 crisis on our state’s communities of color.

Let us be clear. There is no excuse for the type of lawlessness seen in Providence overnight from Monday to Tuesday. Those responsible for such wanton destruction must be held accountable. Whatever anger and frustration may have motivated some participants, there is no justification for the kind of behavior in which they participated or were complicit.

What took place was not a protest. It was a riot and a criminal act. It was not affiliated with the Black Lives Matter movement and its peaceful demonstrations. It was a case of bad actors co-opting a moment of national turbulence and soul-searching for malign purposes.

We have never so sorely needed leaders willing and able to responsibly guide the way, to provide a clear-eyed, honest and compassionate example.

Locally, we have seen many of our leaders are capable of acknowledging the limits of their own experience and willing to engage in the kind of dialogue – and, hopefully, the hard work – that is so desperately required.

Our nation, at least in its highest office, has no such guiding force – in fact, it is quite the opposite. Trump’s game of distraction and gaslighting is so incessant as to be numbing, but this particular moment sounds a new, more urgent alarm.