Kenosha, COVID, And The 2020 Election

The events of the past week since the end of both political conventions have made it clear that 2 critical issues will affect the 2020 election: civil unrest in Kenosha and Portland, and the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.

Politics
If we are to believe Donald Trump and the Republicans from their convention last week, then we should know Trump is the most compassionate and unifying human to ever walk the face of the earth. EVER! However, despite their attempts to make us all believe that the police brutality, racial inequality, social unrest, and 180,000 COVID-19 deaths in America have all been a figment of our imaginations, and that Trump is somehow an innocent bystander amid all the strife and that re-electing him will create a magic fix (instead of him fixing it all right now while it occurs on his watch), it’s evident we’re being fed a heaping helping of lies and deceit.

So, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, do not believe the “wizard” behind the Oz curtain.  Instead, believe your own eyes and ears.  All is NOT well in America — and there are 2 simmering issues that are poised to affect the outcome of the 2020 election. Let’s take a look.
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KENOSHA

The unrest in Kenosha, WI involving the police shooting of Jacob Blake, combined with the militia-style murder of 2 peaceful protesters by a 17-year-old and White gun-toting teenager (who took it upon himself to play cop and “maintain order”) is the hot button issue we will ride all the way into the November election.

Despite his self-aggrandizing and erroneous claims that he has done more for Black people than any US president, Donald Trump has turned a blind eye to the police shooting of yet another unarmed black man in Kenosha and refused to denounce the militia acts of his own MAGA followers.  By contrast, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, NBA players, as well as thousands of protesters across America for most of the summer have all recognized why Colin Kaepernick risked everything and took a knee to bring attention to the Black murders by the men in blue.

Black lives do matter and many Americans have been willing to risk contracting the coronavirus just to protest against the killing of Black men at the hands of police. However, the situations in Kenosha and Portland have the ability to define the 2020 presidential election.

Donald Trump has blatantly blown his racist dog whistle to warn White American suburbanites that they should be very afraid of these “Black” protestors (they’re not all Black) and the violence that will turn America’s streets into a war zone.  He also trotted out a string of “good” Black people at his convention to surprisingly announce that to them, he is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Then, despite warnings from local officials NOT to come, Trump staged an appearance in Kenosha on Tuesday  — you know, just to show that he really cares about Black lives.

In short, his message is mixed and all over the place.  It’s time for Joe Biden to exploit Trump’s confusion and weaknesses.

Remembering that Wisconsin is the crucial state Hillary Clinton inexplicably ignored in 2016, Joe Biden was correct not to cede the issue or the news cycle to Donald Trump. His speech on Monday condemning violence from either side resonated with independent voters and could be a difference-maker in several battleground states.

As a follow up to his Pittsburgh speech, Biden should continue to press Trump for his divisiveness and dog whistle that many fear may be leading America into another civil war.  He should also reach out to those small-business owners of Kenosha who believe Trump’s rhetoric that perhaps Democrats are indifferent to the violence that has wrecked their city. Joe Biden says he can unify America again. The events in Kenosha and Portland are the perfect storm for him to prove it.
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COVID-19

‘Teleprompter Trump’ appeared meek and mild as he read the words someone wrote for him during his acceptance speech last week during the RNC. However, it didn’t take long for that mirage to collapse and crumble.

Despite the ongoing threat of the novel coronavirus and shouts from scientists that Americans are becoming lax while ignoring warnings that COVID-19 is about to make a return engagement in the fall featuring a special guest appearance by the flu, Donald Trump just had to outdo the Democrats. Or, in other words, he needed a convention crowd of adoring fans to feed his starving ego with adulation about as much as he needs air.

According to reports, at least 1500 people gathered on the South Lawn of The White House last Thursday just to hear Trump say “I accept your nomination.”  However, since there was nary a mask in sight and almost nobody willing to adhere to social distancing norms, the Trump party is poised to become yet another “super spreader” viral event of 2020.

Back to his old divisive self complete with made-up childish nicknames and off the cuff insults, Trump appeared last Friday in New Hampshire at yet another public gathering complete with the crowd he so desperately craves. However, when an announcement was broadcast asking attendees to wear a mask, the crowd openly booed the very suggestion of safety and ignored all warnings.

How did wearing a mask and social distancing become an issue people are willing to literally fight over? It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize the blame lies with Donald Trump.

As COVID-19 began to rapidly wreak havoc across the US, Trump chose to ignore the threat while promising that it would one day “just magically go away.” When it didn’t go away and predominately Democratic cities (such as New York) saw death and devastation, Trump again ignored the virus because it wasn’t affecting “his crowd” in conservative holds like Florida, Texas, and Arizona. So, he told “his crowd” not to worry. He told them via his own inaction not to bother wearing an unnecessary mask. He told them it was all a creation of the fake news media and that he had everything under control.

Now, 180,000+ deaths later, it’s obvious he didn’t have anything under control. With Florida, Texas, and Arizona widely considered “hot spots” while places like New York are presumed as among the safest in the nation, Trump’s inaction on the COVID crisis is poised to bite him in his rear end.

Between now and election day, Trump’s focus won’t be on the coronavirus (he’d rather Americans forget all about COVID and not hold him responsible for his inaction that led to so many deaths). It will be on winning daily bragging rights via his immature Twitter rants and on besting Joe Biden.

“We’re going to win. Does anybody have any doubt?” Trump told the New Hampshire crowd outside an airplane hangar. “Joe Biden is coming out of the basement because the poll numbers have totally swung — they’ve totally swung,” Trump added.

Next, he took aim at Kamala Harris, telling the crowd that although he’d like to see the first woman president, “I don’t want to see a woman president get into that position the way she’d do it,” suggesting Sen. Harris will become president because Biden won’t be able to complete his term. “She’s not competent,” he added while offering his daughter Ivanka as a better choice.

“They’re all saying, ‘We want Ivanka.’ I don’t blame you.”

We now see Donald Trump’s playbook for 2020. It mixes the old Nixon law and order playbook with Trump’s own penchant for division and racist dog whistles and his overt desire for a dictatorship. Expect him to fan the flames and promote tension in Kenosha, while downplaying and perhaps downright ignoring the continuing threat of COVID-19 (he’s bored with it).

The name of Trump’s game is: whatever best feeds his ego and makes him come out looking like a winner.  Too bad for him it could all backfire.

OK WASSUP! discusses Politics:
How Kenosha and COVID will affect the election.