Heather Cox Richardson
It seems that Trump’s heavy hand in Portland, Oregon, backfired. He was trying to deflect attention from the disastrous response to the coronavirus by convincing voters that there were dangerous riots in our streets, backed by Democrats. But the heavy hand of the federal troops he sent has led to lawsuits, and on Wednesday, Oregon Governor Kate Brown and federal officials agreed for federal troops to get out of the streets of Portland. After the deal, Trump tweeted “If the Federal Government and its brilliant Law Enforcement (Homeland) didn’t go into Portland one week ago, there would be no Portland—it would be burned and beaten to the ground. If they Mayor and Governor… do not stop the Crime and Violence from the Anarchists and Agitators immediately, the Federal Government will go in and do the job that local law enforcement was supposed to do!”
But with the removal of federal troops from active policing of the city, the protests have become quiet and largely peaceful. The sudden calm illustrates that Trump was ginning up trouble to get footage for campaign ads. And voters get it. They trust Biden over Trump to “maintain law and order” by a margin of 50% to 41%.
The campaign appears to be concerned. Most interesting today was the news from a convention spokesperson and a Republican official that the organizers of the Republican National Convention, due to start on August 24, would not allow reporters at the event.
The convention has become a bit of a disaster, with Trump abruptly moving it from Charlotte, North Carolina to Jacksonville, Florida in mid-June, only to cancel the Jacksonville event on July 23. Now things are back on in Charlotte, but exactly what is going to happen there is unclear. The Jacksonville move meant that the delegates were not going to write a new platform for 2020, leaving Trump standing on the 2016 platform, which contained embarrassing attacks on “the president,” who in 2016 was Barack Obama. The Jacksonville event was essentially just going to be a celebration of Trump’s renomination.
But now back in Charlotte, the convention organizers are apparently talking about excluding reporters, although the Republican National Committee communications director Michael Ahrens told CNN that the decision was not yet final. He blamed the restriction on the coronavirus distancing necessary, but this explanation is not convincing from a party and a president that is so routinely flouting coronavirus restrictions.
More likely, they expect drama at the convention, drama they do not want others to see. It’s possible Trump fears an objection to his renomination, or another such public relations nightmare. The whole point of conventions these days is that they make such good television they launch candidacies with a giant push. And now it appears Trump, a publicity hound if ever there was one, is apparently considering foregoing that hoopla. It’s interesting. |
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