Violence as a political weapon
, עודכן
Donald Trump appeared calmer and more moderate than ever before at the Republican debate in Florida on Thursday. He even presented himself as "Trump the uniter." The next morning, Dr. Ben Carson -- another Republican candidate who dropped out -- wrote a column endorsing Trump. Considering Trump's opponents' claim that he is racist, support from the African-American Carson is highly symbolic.
The weekend polls also guaranteed Trump partial victories this week in the primaries in Florida, Illinois, and even Ohio. Everything seemed too calm, too happy, for these stormy primary elections. And then evening fell. And then Chicago. And then the bombshell of Trump's rally at the University of Illinois.
Chicago is a city with a charged history. For years, it's been run by Democrats. The city's population is one-third white, one-third black, and one-third Hispanic. The city noted for jazz clubs has seen some of the darkest chapters of American history when it comes to racial conflict.
The clash between blacks and whites on Friday recalled images of Chicago in 1968 that everyone would prefer to forget. Someone might be trying to revive those clashes between the Ku Klux Klan and the Black Panthers to bring down Trump. It's a doomsday weapon, a dangerous weapon. It's not certain Trump won't benefit. He was the one who rushed to cancel the Chicago rally. He was the one who was forced to go on the defensive at a rally in Ohio. He's the democrat, even if he's a Republican.
Trump's rival, Sen. Marco Rubio, believes that the demonstration in Chicago was organized. Maybe. It's nothing new that today, being a conservative lecturer at an American university is a bad idea. (Ask Ben Shapiro.) One thing is certain: The Chicago protest was meant to challenge Trump's declaration that he is here to unite. The advantage of these primary elections is that the results arrive quickly. On Tuesday, the riddle will be solved.
Too many people want to see Trump fall: his Republican rivals, the party establishment, and even the Democrats, who at first thought that Trump was a gift from heaven and are now afraid that the sky will fall down on them.
The goal of the Chicago demonstrators, beyond undermining the rally, was to show the rest of America that Donald Trump is a divisive candidate. Both Rubio and Sen. Ted Cruz criticized the attack on the rally as a violation of the First Amendment, but they made it very clear that Trump was responsible for the current climate of the primaries.
Trump also needs to understand that he can't say he wants to shoot someone; call to wipe out terrorists' families; declare that Mexican immigrants are murderers and rapists and that a wall must be built to keep them out; and expect his words won't stir up a huge fuss. The liberal American media didn't need to exert itself to mock Trump's candidacy.
But what Trump's opponents, including the media, haven't understood is that the problem isn't what he's saying, but rather the fact that he realized that these remarks are winning him votes. This is the big story of the 2016 primaries. In an interview to Fox News on Saturday, Rubio tried to explain that a candidate or a president was responsible for the words that come out of his mouth. Trump realized that the people were sick of whitewashed declarations, especially when they didn't lead to any results.
It's hard to believe that Trump will change anything in the election campaign. First, unlike Rubio, he hasn't masqueraded as something he is not. This is who he is, and that's why he's gotten this far. Second, he's saying what many Americans say, or at least what they want to hear.
"Today the radical Left declared a civil war on America. They want to kill us. Be prepared!" This tweet from Trump made no attempt to quell the fire that broke out two days ago. The tweet aims to goad the demonstrators into doing it again.
טעינו? נתקן! אם מצאתם טעות בכתבה, נשמח שתשתפו אותנו