Trump is thundering against the riots, but it is not so certain that the uprising will be a voice anchor

The uprising, protests and violence are emerging as the hottest topic for both US presidential candidates.

On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump will travel to Kenosha in Wisconsin. But neither the city mayor nor the state governor expect a presidential visit.

The division in the local community is sharp after a dramatic week:

• On August 23, African American Jacob Blake was shot seven times in the back by a police officer.
• The subsequent uprising was marked by violence, vandalism and looting.
• Two protesters were shot and killed on August 25 by a heavily armed 17-year-old police fan.

The riots in Wisconsin are happening at the same time as the riots and protests take place in the third month in Portland, Oregon.

Conflicts in Wisconsin and Oregon characterize public discourse and form the basis of a bitter debate between the two presidential candidates Donald Trump and Joe Biden.

But who wins voters in the riot?

Lundestad: chaos in favor of Trump

Historian and former Nobel laureate Geir Lundestad isn’t sure who will benefit the most politically from the discussion.

– Democrats can handle the dimension of institutional racism and black carpets. But the chaos that ensues after such episodes is pretty clear in Trump’s favor, Lundestad says.

Trump is running, Lundestad notes, as the candidate for law and order, while claiming that Biden, under pressure from the Socialists, will cut all funding for the police.

– It’s silly, says Lundestad, who points out that Biden wants to reform the police, not abolish it.

Snoen: no clear winner

Author and writer Jan Arild Snoen in Minerva magazine, current book with Trump’s impact, he also doesn’t see any obvious conclusions about who benefits the most from the debate.

– What triggers these demonstrations, favors the Democrats. The reaction to them, with violence and unrest, favors Republicans, says Snoen.

Snoen believes that for the moment there is some kind of balance in the two cases, which means that neither side is a clear winner.

At the same time, his impression is that Trump has failed to get voters to bite into the message of fighting anarchic conditions.

– Trump’s problem is that he cannot express empathy for victims of police brutality while appealing to law and order, Snoen says.

He notes that opinion polls give Biden better chances than Trump in this case.

Believe in the Trump advantage

Former Donald Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway confirms that social unrest can be good in terms of re-election. For the Trump-friendly Fox & Friends TV show, she said:

– The more chaos, anarchy, vandalism and violence dominate, the clearer is the choice of who is the best in security and public order.

Barack Obama’s adviser David Axelrod also believes the Kenosha riots are in Trump’s favor.

He wrote on Twitter that the Trump campaign has been working to divert attention from the corona pandemic and unemployment: “To put it bluntly, the timing of the Kenosha riots has been a gift to him in this job.”

Suspect “antifascist” of murder

In Portland, Oregon, police are investigating a 48-year-old man for murder. There are many indications that the victim was part of a group that demonstrated to show its support for the president. The suspect describes himself as an “anti-fascist” and has been active in demonstrations on black life issues in the city, writes The Oregonian.

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler was quickly charged with the riots and the assassination of the president. At the same time, the Oregon Public Broadcasting broadcasting station reports that the mayor also receives harsh criticism and demands the resignation of left-wing and civil rights groups.

They believe that it has been too passive and has allowed extreme right demonstrations.

Draw a gloomy picture

Both candidates are now using the uprising to defend their candidacy. Trump told supporters in New Hampshire over the weekend that they must “save democracy from the mafia.” He and his people emphasize that the riots are taking place in cities ruled by Democrats.

“They have lost control of their ‘movement,'” Trump wrote on Twitter Monday afternoon.

Also in commercials, his electoral campaign apparatus paints a gloomy picture.

In the movie clip “Don’t Let Them Destroy America”, viewed 6 million times on YouTube, there are clips of Democrats praising peaceful protesters. In the background, images of fires, looting, violence and riots are rolling at the same time.

– Do you feel safe?

Biden’s election campaign, for its part, aims to make it clear that the scandal is taking place in a United States where Trump is in power.

His commercial, called “This is Trump’s America,” ends with a question about whether the viewer feels safe after seeing images of shootings and violent clashes.

On Monday night, Biden was invited to a meeting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to ask if people feel safe.

The offer’s message is as follows: While COVID-19 is devastating and people are hesitant to send their children to school, Trump is fueling divisions and calling for chaos in cities rather than calming the mood and unite the country.

Divided in the middle

A Yougov poll last weekend also did not provide a clear answer on who benefits most from life. People are divided in the middle on what is the biggest problem of institutional racism and the collapse of law and order.

If people have to choose tactics to “get things under control,” it looks a little better for Biden. Six out of ten aim to “bring people together”, while four out of ten choose “law and order.”

– Come another time

In Kenosha, Trump’s visit on Tuesday has raised concerns among local Democratic leaders. Gov. Tony Evers has written a letter asking Trump to reconsider. He believes that Trump’s visit will prevent reconciliation and delay attempts to stop the split.

Mayor John Antaramian spoke ahead of the weekend about the visit:

– I think it would have been better if you came at another time, he said.