Rita Panahi: How Trump’s haters handed him a golden opportunity amid wild riots
One of Trump’s greatest assets is being blessed with deeply stupid enemies. After days of wild rioting egged on by the Left, the President’s haters have handed him an opportunity to restore order, writes Rita Panahi.
Rita Panahi
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The last 24 hours could prove to be the most significant in Donald Trump’s presidency and in helping him secure a second term.
Do not underestimate the power of Trump walking out the White House gates into Lafayette Square — which hours earlier was full of hostile protesters — and to the St John’s Church set alight by protesters the previous day.
At the front of the damaged church, the president held up a Bible and said “we have a great country” and vowed to make it greater. Was it staged? Of course.
But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t enormously powerful in reassuring law-abiding Americans who have watched in horror as their towns and cities degenerate into lawless fun parks for thugs and thieves.
For a week, mobs have rampaged across the country, ostensibly in reaction to the police brutality that killed George Floyd, but it’s hard to discern how beating up innocent bystanders, looting shops and burning down businesses and an affordable housing project is honouring a victim of violence.
One of Trump’s greatest assets is being blessed with deeply stupid enemies. The President’s haters have handed him an opportunity to restore order after days of wild rioting egged on by the Left, including segments of the media, Hollywood celebrities and Democrat politicians. Painfully woke Nike expressed solidarity with the protesters, even as their stores were being looted.
At a time when Trump’s greatest electoral asset, a booming economy, has been decimated by coronavirus, he has the opportunity to be the law and order president, rescuing cities and towns from inept Democratic governors and mayors who have abdicated responsibility for keeping their residents safe.
Dozens of police officers have been attacked during the nationwide protests and at least six people have died, including African-American federal officer Patrick Underwood, but there’ll be no protests for his unlawful killing.
Among the most disturbing incidents have been multiple acts of politically motivated violence — domestic terrorism — with people beaten by feral mobs for wearing a MAGA cap or holding an American flag.
On Tuesday Trump vowed to seize back control and end the lawlessness.
“I have recommended every governor deploy the National Guard in sufficient numbers to dominate the streets,” he said.
“I want organisers of this terror to be on notice that you will face severe criminal penalties … we cannot allow the righteous cries of peaceful protesters to be drowned out by an angry mob. The biggest victims of this rioting are peace-loving citizens in our poorest communities.”
Trump put mayors and governors on notice and said if they refused “to take the actions that are necessary to defend the lives and property of their residents then I will deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them.”
The speech predictably had the Left screeching about “Dictator Trump” and the dawn of totalitarianism.
The media did what they have done for four years — push a relentlessly anti-Trump narrative and make the story about themselves. They seem proudly clueless about the fact most Americans care about law and order and don’t want thugs, Antifa criminals or other anti-police activist groups terrorising them with impunity.
How many more people have to be killed or businesses looted and burnt before decisive action is taken?
If you think our local media’s reporting on Trump and America is hopelessly biased, and it is, then consider the output of CNN which on Tuesday speculated the president might use nuclear weapons in America.
Putting aside the incoherent gaslighting by the media — who have even resorted to pushing a crazy “false flag” conspiracy theory blaming imaginary nationalists for the violence — consider how these protesters’ antics are being rationalised by those who two weeks ago condemned peaceful protesters for wanting to reopen their businesses.
Protesting to lift the coronavirus lockdowns crippling your business was mocked as reckless, stupid and selfish but burning down businesses is somehow righteous and multi-layered.
And isn’t it curious how concerns about social distancing and big crowds seem to have evaporated overnight.
The man responsible for Floyd’s death is facing a murder charge and the other officers present are expected to be charged too, yet protesters who clearly couldn’t give a stuff about Floyd continue to attack people, wantonly destroy property and generally act like wild animals.
The bigotry of low expectations sees media, and even conservatives, praising those who are protesting without violence. As if being lawful is something to be lauded rather than expected in a civilised society.
Trump is being held responsible for violence occurring in places likes Minneapolis, NYC and Chicago, all Democrat-run cities, in Democrat-run states.
The last three years of Obama’s presidency were punctuated with race-related riots. The Ferguson unrest lasted for months under Obama.
Trump can’t afford to allow that to occur under his watch and must do as he has vowed — call in the military and restore order.
— Rita Panahi is a Herald Sun columnist