The longer these riots go on, the more Donald Trump’s anger will seduce America

When he ran for president in 2016, Donald Trump was routinely compared to Richard Nixon: both men promised to restore “law and order”. Nixon won the presidency in 1968 in a familiar context – protests and riots in major cities – and he claimed to speak for a “silent majority” unrepresented by the Democrats or the media.

So, comes the question, if Trump follows a Nixon strategy, will he win in November? Perhaps. But there are some major differences. 

The most obvious is that Nixon was running as an outsider whereas Trump is the incumbent, and Trump will be blamed for the condition of his country even if a lot of it isn’t his fault. Over 100,000 Americans have died from Covid-19 and the unemployment rate is around 15 per cent (it was about 3 per cent in 1968).

Moreover, Trump might see himself as a law and order candidate, but many voters regard him as a primary source of disorder. His rhetoric seems to incite anger and he delights in picking fights. 

Nixon, on the other hand, certainly knew how to bear a grudge and was hated by a thick slice of liberal opinion, but the so-called “New Nixon” of 1968 actually presented himself as a moderate. The major complaint wasn’t that he said too much, like Trump, but that he barely said anything at all; his rhetoric was tightly controlled and his grin fixed.

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