The struggle to establish a primary narrative in the minds of American voters continues apace. Biden on Monday essentially tried to lay responsibility for the violence in certain American cities at the feet of Trump. It seems to me that's going to be a hard sell outside of his base. Trump has an easier task--he lays the blame for the riots on the rioters.
Also, the notion that it was somehow wrong or unhelpful for Trump to visit Kenosha at all, coming from the Democratic mayor and governor, was risible. Of course the president can go anywhere he wants to go in this country, and to begin to suggest that politically-motivated politicians can or should decide where he can go is opening a door that should never be opened.
So Trump swooped into Kenosha, promised money, and took on the "we will rebuild" mantle. This is clearly the theme he is going to run with . . . law and order, along with largesse. It's positively Nixonian!
Will it work? I think quite possibly it will. If Biden wants to counter this, he needs not to make strenuous claims about Trump being the actual fomenter of the violence (which play only to his base), but to present a more effective (and fairer) solution. Part of this will include a sense that he is not afraid to name and condemn some of the actual fomenters (i.e., Antifa). Either that, or change the subject, which is what I expect of him.
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