President Trump’s 2020 is certainly unlike what he expected. His greatest campaign strength is holding rallies and igniting the excitement of those in the Republican base. But COVID-19 has interrupted those plans as we have seen with his sparsely attended Tulsa rally, and now, he has canceled the Republican National Convention in Jacksonville, Florida. Because his greatest assets, personal appearances and casual speech-making, have been removed or modified, the Trump team must rely on messaging. Since the landscape has changed, voters will assess whether the president has adequately addressed the multifaceted chaos that is present in their own communities and across the nation as a whole.
The unrest has greatly affected the presidential candidates. Both former Vice President Joe Biden and Trump have been forced to address the issues in ways that make them appear the most capable in dealing with them. There is not only ongoing stress from dealing with a pandemic but continued protesting and rioting in the wake of George Floyd’s death at the hands of police officers in May. As it does during any election cycle, the current turmoil is always worse for the incumbent. While their opponent can talk about how they would deal with a number of situations, the current officeholder must show that they are actively doing that.
A common strategy used by Trump’s 2020 campaign is to ask members of the electorate to look at protesting and societal unrest, call it “Joe Biden’s America,” and ask if they want more of the same. At first glance, this may seem like a great public relations tactic. However, it doesn’t take long for the audience to sit back and question why it’s being projected onto Trump’s opponent when it is happening right now, as the incumbent finishes out his first term.
This would be @JoeBiden’s America.
It’s a very scary place.pic.twitter.com/CokumE7uPG
— Boris Epshteyn (@BorisEP) July 22, 2020
If the Trump campaign does not realize the obvious disconnect on display with this messaging, it will only end up hurting its chances among restless Republicans and undecided voters. And right now, with Biden’s poll numbers continuing to look strong, Trump needs all the help he can get.
This year has been filled with so much of the unexpected that no one could have prepared for it. There is not only one major crisis, there are several. And even though they were not started by the 45th president, he will be seen as the one under whom they raged, regardless of responsibility. For that reason alone, it is unwise to place what Americans can see with their own eyes as happening on his watch onto Biden. That approach is especially ill-advised when the former vice president appears to be more empathetic to both protesters and those suffering during this pandemic.
While there is much that is out of its hands, the Trump campaign has an opportunity to change the campaign’s tone as it relates to the upheaval around the country. If they must insist on using “Keep America Great” as a slogan, they must also recognize that the country as it stands now is actually Trump’s America. This includes the good as well as the bad. The inability to claim both gives the impression that the current administration is unwilling to accept things as they are and instead only focus on how they could be. Since Trump has had almost four years as leader of our nation, voters may be left scratching their heads and wondering when the Trumpian concept of promised greatness will finally be realized.
Kimberly Ross (@SouthernKeeks) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog and a columnist at Arc Digital.
