One crisis too many?

Follow Us Get the newsletter In accepting the Republican Party's presidential nomination four years ago, Donald Trump declared himself himself the "law and order candidate." Now, seeking a second term, Trump's harking back to that sentiment after a weekend of sometimes-violent protests against police brutality in virtually every major U.S. city. Trump is eschewing the soothing role past presidents have adopted in similar moments of national unrest, Justin Sink writes, as he attempts to shift focus from his widely panned handling of the coronavirus outbreak, which continues to kill about 1,000 Americans daily. The president has blamed the protests — sparked by the death last week of unarmed black man George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody — on Antifa, a loosely organized leftist movement that's a frequent target of conservative critics. His political advisers believe the move will put pressure on presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden, who has struggled to find his own footing on responding to the demonstrations. Does he agree with the President? Or side with groups that some White House officials regard as rioters? The situation is unfolding against the backdrop of tensions with China. Beijing, after months of criticism from Washington for a violent crackdown in Hong Kong, seized the opportunity to needle the Trump administration over the unrest on its own soil. The White House's approach carries other risks, including alienating some voters. Even some in Trump's camp worry this may be one crisis too many for a president who seems to thrive on them. — Kathleen Hunter  Demonstrators gather yesterday near the White House to protest Floyd's death. Trump plans to meet today with Attorney General William Barr at the White House, before convening a teleconference with governors, law enforcement and national security officials. Photographer: Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images Tell us how we're doing or what we're missing at balancepower@bloomberg.net. Global Headlines Trading blows | Chinese government officials told major state-run agricultural companies to pause purchases of some American farm goods including soybeans, as Beijing evaluates the tensions with the U.S. over Hong Kong. It's the latest sign the hard-won initial trade deal between the world's two biggest economies is in jeopardy and follows Trump's latest barrage of criticism of Beijing. Read here how a growing number of Hong Kongers — worried about China's move to enact national security legislation over the city — are headed for the exits. Family feud | Syrians are transfixed by a public rift between President Bashar al-Assad and his cousin Rami Makhlouf, who has been the regime's economic czar, with authorities seizing Makhlouf's assets in a dispute over $180 million in government dues. As Donna Abu-Nasr reports, Makhlouf has morphed from one of Assad's biggest defenders into the enemy within the Alawite sect that's been at the center of power in the Middle Eastern country since 1970. Protester-in-chief | President Jair Bolsonaro joined a demonstration in Brasilia against Congress and the Supreme Court yesterday as concern grows over a potential institutional crisis. The unrest has been brewing amid a probe into allegations that the president's allies spread fake news and the court's support for states' measures to slow the pandemic, with others uneasy about Bolsonaro's push to reopen the economy in a nation with the world's second-highest number of virus cases. Bolsonaro during a demonstration in front of Planalto Palace in Brasilia yesterday. Photographer: Andressa Anholete/Getty Images South America Old wounds | After it was stormed by far-right activists in 2011, the Hungarian town of Gyongyospata has become a symbol of ethnic tension in many parts of eastern Europe. Now Roma people there worry that Prime Minister Viktor Orban is fanning anti-minority sentiment — a move he's used before to score a bump in polls — to deflect blame after thousands of people lost their jobs because of the pandemic, Zoltan Simon and Flavia Krause-Jackson report. Breaking point | Corpses left unattended in hallways. Patients asked to sleep on the floor. Medical care for non-virus cases all but suspended. The public health-care system in Mumbai, India's financial capital and the epicenter of the country's worsening outbreak, is overwhelmed. The situation is compounded — some say created — by the reluctance of the city's massive private health system to get involved in virus care. What to Watch This Week The U.S. Supreme Court could act as soon as today on calls to bolster constitutional firearm protections, including appeals that seek a nationwide right to carry a handgun in public and own a semiautomatic assault weapon. Spain's parliament votes Wednesday on Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's proposal for a final extension of the state of emergency until June 21. Italy plans to ease its lockdown Wednesday, allowing travel between regions even as some local governors in areas with few cases oppose letting people from hard-hit Lombardy move freely. The latest talks on thefuture relationship between the U.K. and the European Union following Britain's divorce from the bloc are scheduled for tomorrow. OPEC+ is set to discuss a short extension of its current output cuts as the cartel considers bringing forward its next meeting a few days to Thursday. Trump said he's planning an expanded Group of Seven leaders meeting in the autumn, potentially even after the November election, postponing efforts to hold the event in June at Camp David. He said he'll include Russia. Thanks to all who responded to our pop quiz Friday and congratulations to Mond McKenzie, who was the first to correctly note that Benjamin Netanyahu is the first sitting prime minister of Israel to face criminal trial. And finally ... With much of the world still battling the pandemic, a testing blitz of the entire population of Wuhan, where the virus first emerged, could allow the Chinese city to eradicate the pathogen from its population. Yet the method probably can't be repeated in other countries or bigger Chinese cities because it requires a massive mobilization of resources and the full cooperation of residents. Medical workers take swab samples from residents in Wuhan on May 15. Photographer: STR/AFP via /Getty Images   You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Balance of Power newsletter. Unsubscribe | Bloomberg.com | Contact Us Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022