evidence: Former Secretary of Defense James Mattis on Wednesday castigated President Donald Trump as "the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people" in a forceful rebuke of his former boss as nationwide protests have intensified over the death of George Floyd. [...] But Mattis directed most of his ire at Trump, saying "Never did I dream that troops taking that same oath would be ordered under any circumstance to violate the Constitutional rights of their fellow citizens—much less to provide a bizarre photo op for the elected commander-in-chief, with military leadership standing alongside." Trump on Wednesday evening softened his tone around sending the military into American cities, saying, "I don’t think we’ll have to," before reiterating that he has "very strong powers to do it" in an interview with his former press secretary Sean Spicer.