President Trump’s brief speech Monday night about mobilizing force against rioters was only half right on substance, and mostly wrong on tone. Once again, he proved why he is exactly the wrong man to inhabit the White House in these times.

What was needed was a combination of toughness with compassion, of protection of the rule of law with commitment to reform where law has failed. Instead, Trump provided only toughness and protection, without compassion or reform. And, in tone, Trump was all about bluster, force, and anger, further rubbing raw the societal wounds on display for the past seven days. It was a dreadful performance.