With Independence Day addresses, the US president uses scare tactics to boost lagging poll numbers. Democrats should take note
By DAVID BRINNUS President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump watch the Washington, D.C. fireworks display from the Truman Balcony as they celebrate the US Independence Day holiday at the White House in Washington, US, July 4, 2020(photo credit: REUTERS/CARLOS BARRIA)
It might be too generous to chalk it up to actual strategic planning, but US President Donald Trump’s innate tendency to divide Americans into an us-vs-them, steel-cage, ’til-the-death match might inadvertently prove to be his golden card to reelection.With poll numbers plummeting amid the coronavirus pandemic free fall due to chaotic or non-management policies and the unrest that has gripped the United States since the death of George Floyd, Trump used the Fourth of July holiday to draw the battle lines.Speaking at the iconic Mount Rushmore monument in South Dakota and a day later from the White House, Trump promised to defeat the “radical Left.”“We are now in the process of defeating the radical Left: the Marxists, the anarchists, the agitators, the looters and people who, in many instances, have absolutely no clue what they are doing,” Trump said, echoing remarks he gave at Mount Rushmore. “We will never allow an angry mob to tear down our statues, erase our history, indoctrinate our children or trample on our freedoms.”By lumping anyone who supports change in the American tradition of honoring Confederate generals and other symbols of racism and questions the long-held historical narrative that ignores the decimation of Native American culture with the lawless mobs who are taking the law in their own hands and toppling monuments around the country, Trump is succeeding to instill fear into Middle America.Although they may have grown weary of Trump despite having voted for him, they don’t want anarchy and rampant violence in the streets. They want a democratic process to determine the future direction of the country, fueled by legislation and reasoned logic, not by mob mentality. If Trump is able to convince those voters that a Biden administration will open the floodgates for the “Marxists, agitators and looters” to take over, it could emerge as a powerful tool to overshadow the incumbent’s deficient qualities that have him considerably trailing Biden in nationwide polls. It’s a long way to November, and any confidence that Democrats feel now should be tempered with worry about how to embrace progressive change while condemning street justice.It is possible to identify with the idea that all black lives matter and still come out strongly against the growing sense that the most extreme elements of the recent enlightenment are prodding the process to spiral out of control.If they really want to win in November, Biden and Democrats need to distance themselves from the knee-jerk reactions to the cancel culture that has erupted in the aftermath of the Floyd debacle. Otherwise, they will find those poll numbers closing in as we head toward the conventions and the November election.Trump is a master manipulator, and his July 4 addresses demonstrate that he is far from ready to hand over the keys to the Oval Office.
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