Joe Biden signaled a new phase in the 2020 campaign as he went on the offensive over violence that has racked cities across the country, in a move Trump strategists hope will backfire by keeping the election in the Republican-friendly issue of law and order.
President Trump and his allies have repeatedly condemned racial justice protests when they have spiraled into looting or attacks on police. On Monday, the Democratic nominee tried to turn the unrest back on to the president, his policies, and his combative manner.
“He doesn’t want to shed light, he wants to generate heat, and he’s stoking violence in our cities,” Biden said in Pittsburgh. “He can’t stop the violence because, for years, he’s fomented it.”
Some senior Democrats see danger in refocusing the debate away from the president’s handling of COVID-19 and their bread-and-butter issues such as healthcare. And, as if to underline the point, the Trump campaign and the White House spent the day accusing Democrats of hypocrisy for pivoting to the issue late.
Trump is due on Tuesday to visit Kenosha, Wisconsin, where aides are trying to schedule a meeting with the family of Jacob Blake, who was shot in the back seven times by a police officer, sparking fresh protests.
A former White House official said Democrats had allowed Republicans to set the agenda by responding to law-and-order questions but that the Trump campaign was vulnerable if Biden could find the right context.
“Law and order is a winning issue for us. The more we can get Democrats on to our territory, the better,” he said. However, “when it’s about race, we lose.”
But Democratic strategist Brad Bannon said the pandemic remained voters’ No. 1 priority. He said it reminded him of the 2018 midterms, when Trump tried to use a migrant caravan traveling through Mexico to stoke fears but could only temporarily distract from other issues such as healthcare.
“They are trying to do the same thing now, and I don’t think it is going to work much better,” he added.
Republicans and the Trump campaign mounted a full-court press in response to Biden’s offensive, highlighting that there was little discussion of street violence at the Democratic conventions.
The White House briefing room was busy, with both Trump and his press secretary appearing during the day.
“I, from this podium have talked about law and order, the president has talked about law and order repeatedly. But because the polling has shifted now, it’s time for the Democrats to deny what they said previously and, all of a sudden, focus on law and order,” said Kayleigh McEnany before gathering up her briefing book and delivering a parting shot.
“I’ll leave you with this: That’s like the arsonist blaming the firefighter.”
Polls conducted in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody showed a surge in support for Black Lives Matter protests. But as time went on, the numbers have reversed.
Strategists on both sides said they had taken note of the Marquette University Law School poll in the battleground state of Wisconsin in August, which found respondents breaking evenly for and against protests two months after almost two-thirds favored demonstrations.
The Trump campaign was also on the offensive. In its regular “question of the day for Joe Biden,” it urged reporters to ask him: “Which supporter of yours coddled violent mobs of your leftist voters best: Mayor Jacob Frey of Minneapolis, Mayor Jenny Durkan of Seattle, or Mayor Ted Wheeler of Portland?”
Trump kept up a running commentary on Twitter. “LAW & ORDER,” he tweeted.
And the campaign was able to deliver the endorsement of the National Troopers Coalition, which said only Trump’s “strong leadership” could ensure safety in uncertain times.
Senior Democrats see danger in responding. Last week, David Axelrod, Barack Obama’s strategist, said anything that shifted attention from COVID-19 would help Trump.
“To be blunt, the timing of unrest in Kenosha has been a gift to him in that project,” he said.
Jeanne Zaino, professor of political science at Iona College, said Democrats had been slow to realize law and order was a theme of 2020. To capitalize, they would have to argue that, as president, Trump “owned” the unrest across the country and that it was wrong to let Republicans make the case that reforming law enforcement agencies meant being soft on crime.
Most of all, she said, Democrats needed to point out that law-and-order platforms may have helped elect Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, but times had changed since 1968 or 1980.
“It’s about making the case that Donald Trump doesn’t know what’s going on in this country if he thinks the suburbs of 2020 are the suburbs of 1968,” she said. “They’re much more diverse, people are more supportive of fixing the problems of racial injustice.”
