CLEVELAND — On the eve of the Republican National Convention, there was yet another police shooting, this time in Baton Rouge. The violence against law enforcement follows a series of events where black men were killed by police under disputed circumstances.
Could this create an environment at the GOP convention similar to the Democrats’ in 1968? Even without the most recent events, there was always likely to be protests as Donald Trump accepted the Republican nomination.
There’s a tight security perimeter around the convention center, with downtown Cleveland seeing a heavy law enforcement presence with bomb-sniffing dogs.
It’s not uncommon to see the old ethnic churches that dot the city’s landscape and just a few blocks away tall, black security fencing and numerous road detours marked by bright orange signs.
As trivial as politics may seem when tragedies unfold, there is also the question of whether this climate has any impact on the presidential election. It could enhance the appeal of a “law and order” ticket headed by Trump and Mike Pence. Or it could make people fear electing someone without experience in government, helping Hillary Clinton.
Clinton will surely argue that Trump’s rhetoric contributes to the polarization fueling the violence we’ve seen recently in our country. And any chaos at the Republican convention could potentially reinforce this message, making Trump look unprepared.
But anti-Trump protests have backfired in the past and backlash could actually help his candidacy, depending on how the presumptive Republican nominee handles it.
Either way, these are dangerous times in some communities, reinforcing the importance of the presidential race ahead. Can these unpopular candidates ever gain the public’s trust?
