David Brooks, the token conservative at The Atlantic, dropped a bombshell on PBS NewsHour that’s equal parts revealing and ridiculous: Minnesota residents—specifically in Minneapolis—allegedly forced the Trump administration into a Sophie’s choice during the 2020 riots by mounting a self-disciplined protest akin to the Civil Rights movement. According to Brooks, locals put the feds in an impossible spot—either ramp up immigration enforcement (like ICE presence) and stoke more hostility, or pull back and lose control of the streets. The source text cuts off mid-sentence, but the implication is clear: Brooks is framing rioters as noble activists whose disciplined chaos compelled Trump to deprioritize deportations amid the burning precincts and looting sprees. It’s a masterclass in elite media spin, recasting Antifa-style mayhem as Martin Luther King-level moral suasion.
Dig deeper, and this narrative crumbles under its own weight, exposing the media’s soft spot for left-wing violence while demonizing law-and-order responses. Minneapolis wasn’t some Gandhi-esque sit-in; it was a five-day inferno where 700 officers were injured, a billion dollars in damage racked up, and entire neighborhoods turned into no-go zones—until the National Guard rolled in. Brooks’ praise for this self-discipline ignores how the riots were a direct assault on civil authority, with immigration officers caught in the crossfire as rioters targeted federal buildings. The Trump admin’s ICE drawdown? Pragmatic triage, not capitulation—prioritizing American lives over optics in a state where Governor Walz dithered for days. This is the same playbook that painted January 6 as an insurrection while excusing BLM’s 2020 rampage as mostly peaceful.
For the 2A community, Brooks’ confession is pure gold: it underscores why armed self-defense isn’t optional in blue strongholds like Minnesota, where self-disciplined mobs can paralyze government response and turn streets into warzones. When feds hesitate to avoid hostility, it’s everyday citizens with AR-15s who step up as the thin blue line—or rather, the armed patriot line. This story validates the armed vigilante patrols that emerged organically in Kenosha and elsewhere; without them, losing control becomes permanent. 2A advocates should amplify this clip far and wide—it’s inadvertent proof that defunding police and restraining feds leaves a vacuum only filled by those willing to defend their own. Time to stock up, train up, and remind the Brooks brigade: real discipline comes from the barrel of a responsibly owned firearm, not molotov cocktails.
