Will angry mobs boost Donald Trump’s poll chances?

As the summer of unrest continues on America’s streets, are the violent protesters mobs playing into Donald Trump’s hands?

Protesters march in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Wednesday night. Picture: AFP

Back in June, Don­ald Trump declared he was the champion of law and order shortly before a Washington square was cleared of peaceful demonstrators by aggressive federal agents so he could walk through to pose with a Bible.

Memorable as it was, it failed as a PR spectacle in part because it reinforced concerns about heavyhanded law enforcement so soon after the police killing of George Floyd.

Polling has consistently put Joe Biden ahead on the issue of security but as the mayhem of a summer of unrest continues on America’s streets, are the violent protesters and angry mobs playing into Trump’s hands?

Responsibility for everyday policing lies in the hands of state, county and city authorities, and the worst of the burning and looting this northern summer has been in Democrat-controlled areas.

The shootings in Wisconsin can be viewed from different standpoints: some Republicans may see desperate citizens trying to defend themselves; some Democrats will see vigilantes enabled by lax gun laws.

The big question is whether undecided voters will be swayed by the Trump campaign narrative that chaos in Democrat areas will be writ large if Biden takes the White House, or whether they will blame the President for fuelling the nation’s angry and ­divided atmosphere.

Douglas Brinkley, a presidential historian at Rice University, said: “I wouldn’t write Donald Trump off yet — polls are tight in the Midwest and I don’t know how these riots are going to play with the voting public.

“I was recently in Wisconsin and Minnesota and there are a lot of Trump signs around.”

The Times