# I am SERIOUSLY WORRIED that these riots are going to get Trump re-elected **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [August 26, 2020, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-seriously-worried-that-these-riots-are-going-to-get-trump-re-elected/919092 "2020-08-26T20:53:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2020, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-seriously-worried-that-these-riots-are-going-to-get-trump-re-elected/919092/41 "2020-08-27T02:20:39Z")
You do realize that Democrat rioters rioting and looting Democrat controlled cities, in jurisdictions with Democrat DAs and states with Democrat governors has nothing to do with republicans? ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2020, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-seriously-worried-that-these-riots-are-going-to-get-trump-re-elected/919092/42 "2020-08-27T02:45:00Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > You do realize that Democrat rioters rioting and looting Democrat controlled cities, in jurisdictions with Democrat DAs and states with Democrat governors has nothing to do with republicans?   It doesn’t? Please read what I wrote [way back in post #9](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-seriously-worried-that-these-riots-are-going-to-get-trump-re-elected/919092/9). The orange fuck has empowered and emboldened racists, xenophobes, and bigots throughout the ranks of police, CBP, ICE, and other law enforcement agencies. Here near the US-Canada border, there’s been a tremendous upsurge in the number of Canadian citizens holding Canadian passports being denied entry to the US. The common factor? They have brown skin, funny names, and dress like they might be Muslim in the opinion of someone who can’t tell the difference between one danged furriner and another, and who are deemed to be all the same anyway. Immigration lawyers are saying they’ve never seen anything like it. I certainly haven’t. And then there’s the utter tragedy at the Mexican border. Are you just in denial, or have you been on Mars the past couple of years? ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2020, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-seriously-worried-that-these-riots-are-going-to-get-trump-re-elected/919092/43 "2020-08-27T02:50:47Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > You do realize that Democrat rioters rioting and looting Democrat controlled cities, in jurisdictions with Democrat DAs and states with Democrat governors has nothing to do with republicans? Guess which party the police unions that represent the cops sparking ALL of these things in the first place are throwing their support behind. You might also want to learn the difference between nouns and adjectives. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2020, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-seriously-worried-that-these-riots-are-going-to-get-trump-re-elected/919092/44 "2020-08-27T03:12:10Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > These riots are happening under Trump’s watch, and Trumpian policies (confrontation, racism, and bluster) are making them worse. I suppose it’s possible that the catastrophically stupid could blame them on the Democrats, This guy does. He blames the Democratic governors for not cracking down on rioting. Stupid, maybe, but he’s a voter. (My bold.) > **[How Chaos in Kenosha Is Already Swaying Some Voters in Wisconsin (Published...](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/26/us/kenosha-wisconsin-trump.html?action=click&module=Spotlight&pgtype=Homepagem)** > > As residents see fires and looting, some worry that local Democratic leaders are failing to keep control of the situation. > John Geraghty, a 41-year-old worker in a tractor factory, has barely paid attention to the presidential race or the conventions. Every day he focuses on survival: getting his son to sports practice, working at his job where he now wears a mask, and getting home to sleep, only to start over again the next day. > > But when he woke up on Monday morning to images of his hometown, Kenosha, Wis., in flames, he could not stop watching. The unrest in faraway places like Portland, Ore., and Minneapolis had arrived at his doorstep, after a white police officer on Sunday shot a Black man in the back multiple times. And after feeling “100 percent on the fence” about who he will vote for in November, **he is increasingly nervous that Democratic state leaders seem unable to contain the spiraling crisis.** > > … > > The politically calculated warnings of President Trump and the Republican Party about chaos enveloping America should Democrats win in November are reverberating among some people in Kenosha, a small city in the southeast corner of one of the most critical states in this election, where protests have raged for a number of increasingly combustible nights. ---
**Author:** ![Pavelb1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/439d5e/32.png) [@Pavelb1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pavelb1)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2020, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-seriously-worried-that-these-riots-are-going-to-get-trump-re-elected/919092/45 "2020-08-27T03:16:48Z")
Only way now to end these is: 1. Maybbbeeeeee parents decide its not worth it to let their kids get killed by militiamen?? I imagine last night in Kenosha about 1000 kids got texts saying to get their asses home. 2. Trump loses?? Maybe that would do it. 3. Declare martial law, declare the Insurrection Act, and build some out door camps to house the 1000’s of new prisoners. Build some of those Soylent Green trash bulldozer thingies. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2020, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-seriously-worried-that-these-riots-are-going-to-get-trump-re-elected/919092/46 "2020-08-27T03:26:10Z")
For all who are worried, repeat yourself this word over and over again until Election Day: _Guaranteed_ _Gua-ran-teed: (noun): a promise or assurance, especially one in writing, that something is of specified quality, content, benefit, etc., or that it will perform satisfactorily for a given length of time._ _A Joe Biden victory over Trump._ ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2020, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-seriously-worried-that-these-riots-are-going-to-get-trump-re-elected/919092/47 "2020-08-27T03:27:32Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > These riots are happening under Trump’s watch, and Trumpian policies (confrontation, racism, and bluster) are making them worse. I suppose it’s possible that the catastrophically stupid could blame them on the Democrats, but this isn’t like 1968 – in '68, Nixon blamed the Democrats for riots happening with a Democrat in the White House. It doesn’t seem as likely to be effective for Trump to try and blame the Democrats for something that is happening under his watch, and that his rhetoric and actions are making worse. It’s not that simple; it depends on who is running as the “law and order” candidate, not who happens to be occupying the White House. Trump is running as the anti-BLM, anti-Antifa guy (even though - or perhaps, because - he is authoritarian), so the riots only help him. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2020, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-seriously-worried-that-these-riots-are-going-to-get-trump-re-elected/919092/48 "2020-08-27T03:36:55Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > I think part of the conflict being expressed in this thread is the idea of having to pander to racists, or racist sensibilities, for a greater good. Pandering to racists and racist sensibilities is what got us into this mess. Trump and his supporters like to tell the story that the only way to prevent race riots is to allow racists to have free reign. But look around. What we’re seeing is the result. Racism is the cause of race riots not the solution. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2020, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-seriously-worried-that-these-riots-are-going-to-get-trump-re-elected/919092/49 "2020-08-27T03:40:06Z")
Which is why the cops are all the more willing to support him by fomenting more civil unrest by their mistreatment of minorities. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2020, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-seriously-worried-that-these-riots-are-going-to-get-trump-re-elected/919092/50 "2020-08-27T03:41:36Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > > [@iiandyiiii](#): > > > > These riots are happening under Trump’s watch, and Trumpian policies (confrontation, racism, and bluster) are making them worse. I suppose it’s possible that the catastrophically stupid could blame them on the Democrats, but this isn’t like 1968 – in '68, Nixon blamed the Democrats for riots happening with a Democrat in the White House. It doesn’t seem as likely to be effective for Trump to try and blame the Democrats for something that is happening under his watch, and that his rhetoric and actions are making worse. > > It’s not that simple; it depends on who is running as the “law and order” candidate, not who happens to be occupying the White House. Trump is running as the anti-BLM, anti-Antifa guy (even though - or perhaps, because - he is authoritarian), so the riots only help him. I don’t think I buy this. If he was good at law and order, then he wouldn’t have done things that make the riots worse, like brutalizing peaceful protesters for a photo op. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2020, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-seriously-worried-that-these-riots-are-going-to-get-trump-re-elected/919092/51 "2020-08-27T03:43:36Z")
Law and order against a non consenting populace is just oppression. He’s good at that. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2020, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-seriously-worried-that-these-riots-are-going-to-get-trump-re-elected/919092/52 "2020-08-27T03:43:39Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > I don’t think I buy this. If he was good at law and order, then he wouldn’t have done things that make the riots worse, like brutalizing peaceful protesters for a photo op. You gotta understand the Trump/Republican definition of “law and order.” It doesn’t mean, take preventive action to prevent riots from breaking out in the first place - i.e., don’t brutalize people for a photo op, i.e., be nice so people have no incentive to get angry. It means, make the other side angry, **and** squash them hard when they show up to fight. The goal is to keep the ‘other side’ angry, but unable to do anything about their anger. You see this with the Chinese government, for instance - if they didn’t want Hong Kong riots, they shouldn’t have taken their HK freedoms away. But they wanted to 1) take freedoms away AND 2) have enough riot police on hand to squash their backlash. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2020, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-seriously-worried-that-these-riots-are-going-to-get-trump-re-elected/919092/53 "2020-08-27T03:45:43Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > > [@iiandyiiii](#): > > > > I don’t think I buy this. If he was good at law and order, then he wouldn’t have done things that make the riots worse, like brutalizing peaceful protesters for a photo op. > > You gotta understand the Trump/Republican definition of “law and order.” It doesn’t mean, take preventive action to prevent riots from breaking out in the first place - i.e., don’t brutalize people for a photo op, i.e., be nice so people have no incentive to get angry. > > It means, make the other side angry, **and** squash them hard when they show up to fight. The goal is to keep the ‘other side’ angry, but unable to do anything about their anger. Those are Trump voters. I’m sure Trump’s nonsense is helping him with Trump voters, but I see no reason to believe it’s helping him with people who aren’t already inclined to support him. Also, except for the entirely peaceful protesters in Lafayette square, he has failed to squash any protesters. He failed in Portland and anywhere else he’s tried. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2020, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-seriously-worried-that-these-riots-are-going-to-get-trump-re-elected/919092/54 "2020-08-27T03:46:27Z")
Right, brutalize them until they stop complaining about being brutalized. Everyone complies eventually, one way or the other. Just depends on what freedoms and democratic principles you are willing to sacrifice in order to oppress others. Seems Republicans are willing to sacrifice everything in order to keep certain people in their place. (ETA: Except their guns, of course.) ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2020, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-seriously-worried-that-these-riots-are-going-to-get-trump-re-elected/919092/55 "2020-08-27T03:58:36Z")
_reading OP title, then looking at the polling trends from earlier this year to today_ Yah, no. the polls are pretty steady - I’m not worried about _that._ If this election goes ahead without large amounts of interference, then Biden will very likely win. What I _am_ worried about is that this election has already been interfered with, and continues to be. Voter suppression, targeted social media disinformation, and outright intimidation. _That_ is what could put Trump over the edge. Far from complacent, I’m worried that the election will be stolen That’s why everyone needs to get out and vote, resist all of the efforts to suppress the vote, and kick this…person to the curb, along with as many of his enablers in the Republican party. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2020, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-seriously-worried-that-these-riots-are-going-to-get-trump-re-elected/919092/56 "2020-08-27T04:49:57Z")
Adjective and noun? Once the left learns the difference between burning down cities, looting Nikes, beating people and peaceful protests. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2020, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-seriously-worried-that-these-riots-are-going-to-get-trump-re-elected/919092/57 "2020-08-27T05:38:34Z")
It has been clear that it is Trump and the right who have that problem. > **[PolitiFact: Fact-checking 22 claims from Donald Trump’s Axios interview](https://www.tampabay.com/news/health/2020/08/04/politifact-fact-checking-22-claims-from-donald-trumps-axios-interview/)** > > The president repeated a bunch of misleading claims on the U.S. response to the coronavirus. > ## **Asked about “the disturbing footage of people in fatigues beating the Navy veteran” in Portland, Ore. Trump: “No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Here you go, the fake news.”** > > It’s not a hoax that a Navy veteran was beaten with a baton by a federal officer, while another officer sprayed him with a chemical irritant. That incident was captured in a July [video](https://twitter.com/PDXzane/status/1284726088187310080) taken by _Portland Tribune_ reporter Zane Sparling. > > [Multiple](https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/20/us/portland-protester-navy-veteran-beaten/index.html) [news outlets](https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2020/07/portland-protests-man-shown-absorbing-police-baton-blows-in-viral-video-says-he-just-wanted-to-talk-to-federal-officers.html) [reported](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/20/us/portland-protests-navy-christopher-david.html) that Christopher J. David, a Navy veteran, went to downtown Portland in late July to ask federal officers about their tactics in the city. David said he felt compelled to act after watching [videos](https://www.vox.com/2020/7/20/21328387/portland-protests-unmarked-arrest-trump-wold) of unidentified federal officers picking up protesters off the streets and throwing them into unmarked vans. > > The Justice Department Inspector General has [opened an investigation](https://oig.justice.gov/news/doj-oig-announces-initiation-work) into use of force allegations involving department personnel in Portland in July. ---
**Author:** ![Hoops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoops/32/6408_2.png) [@Hoops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoops)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2020, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-seriously-worried-that-these-riots-are-going-to-get-trump-re-elected/919092/58 "2020-08-27T07:00:41Z")
Mr. Trump, sir, you are President right now. You will be President until at least January 20th. If you have a plan to fix things, you can put it in place right now. Do it. Show people how effective you can be. You already have the power you are asking for right now. What are you doing with it? ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2020, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-seriously-worried-that-these-riots-are-going-to-get-trump-re-elected/919092/59 "2020-08-27T08:41:22Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > Right, brutalize them until they stop complaining about being brutalized. “The beatings will continue until morale increases.” > [@octopus](#): > > Once the left learns the difference between burning down cities, looting Nikes, beating people and peaceful protests. No cities have been burned down, and the political views of the looters in toto is not self-evident. However, the right have been beating far more people than the left. Do you hold them to the same standard? ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2020, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-seriously-worried-that-these-riots-are-going-to-get-trump-re-elected/919092/60 "2020-08-27T14:19:33Z")
Biden’s in a tough spot. He can’t be “law and order” when there’s so much anti-police sentiment, and he can’t be too soft either or he’ll alienate fearful suburbanites. In the end he can only deliver milquetoast comments that isn’t going to move the needle one way or the other. I said, way before covid was a big worry, that if anything could stop Trump, it would be Covid. Now, if anything could counter covid, it would be the riots. Worrying for Democrats should be that Biden received no post-VP choice bump, no convention bump. And ratings for the RNC convention is 6x that of the DNC. Whoever is the more exciting candidate is going to win. And I think Biden has an uphill battle there. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-seriously-worried-that-these-riots-are-going-to-get-trump-re-elected/919092.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-seriously-worried-that-these-riots-are-going-to-get-trump-re-elected/919092.md?page=4)