Opponents of Donald Trump often describe him as a political genius who has a cunning understanding of the anxieties and fears of American society, and is able to create and use crises to his favor. The current standoff in Portland shows, yet again, that this is not the case. While his alleged fight against antifa will satisfy some of his far-right supporters, it increasingly risks further alienating the so-called moderate Republicans which seems mostly used to describe better-off pocketbook Republican voters who are already feeling uneasy over his Covid-19 handling and the economic fallout of the pandemic.
An almost ignored aspect of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic is that Trump failed to use it to push through his authoritarian agenda by increasing executive powers, weakening the powers of other institutions, like Congress, and marginalizing dissent, for instance by banning demonstrations. Almost all other countries implemented a more repressive approach to Covid-19, including those governed by progressive parties (like Spain), while most far-right governments used it to push through draconian repressive measures (such as Hungary and India).
Of course, the explanation is that Trump initially denied and ignored the dangers of Covid-19, arguing that its going to work out fine and the warmer weather would take care of it. This made it difficult for him to later shift to an authoritarian approach. Difficult, but certainly not impossible. But clearly Trump never wanted to. Instead, he kept insisting on an economic approach to re-election, repositioning himself as the savior of the US economy, and aggressively pushing for the reopening of America.
A second opportunity to push through an authoritarian agenda came with the Black Lives Matter protests in the wake of the killings of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd and Breonna Taylor this spring. Trumps response was as expected, playing to the broader Republican electorates racialized fears about chaos and rioting. In the 15 days between Floyds murder and funeral, Trump tweeted 195 times about unrest, law enforcement and the threat of military use.
But rather than prioritizing the race card, his natural response, Trump quite quickly redefined the Black Lives Matter protests as antifa protests. This redefinition was in line with two longer-term processes within the Trump camp. First, Trump seems to truly believe that he has a shot at significantly increasing his support among African Americans. For instance, he has long boasted that his administration has done more for the Black Community than any President since Abraham Lincoln. (Needless to say this is not true.)
Second, antifa has become a popular bogeyman within the broader conservative movement, at least since the provocative campus visits of (former) rightwing darlings like Milo Yiannopoulos in the early days of the Trump presidency. The altercations between far-right and Antifa activists, blown out of proportion by mainstream media, were happily incorporated into rightwing propaganda, and Antifa became a favorite topic of many of the presidents favorite shows on Fox News.
Trump became increasingly obsessed with antifa. He also spread conspiracy theories about antifa, parroting far-right media like his new favorite television channel, One America News Network (OANN) as well as far-right social media accounts. He even tweeted his intention to designate ANTIFA as a terrorist organization, an almost certainly unconstitutional move.
Strengthened by the information from his rightwing bubble, the Portland protests must have looked like a golden opportunity to him. Portland has long been one of the main symbols of leftwing politics in the US its viewed positively by progressives, despite slightly mocking programs like Portlandia, and negatively by the right wing.
But the problem is that the Portland protests play only to one of Trumps ideological strongholds: authoritarianism. Given that Portland is the whitest big city in the US, the vast majority of protesters are white, which leaves his biggest asset, racism, largely irrelevant. Similarly, populism is largely useless, as few people will believe that the elite live in, or deeply care for, Portland unlike, for instance, New York.
Portland is not only a bad choice because of the limited appeal to the broader Republican electorate. It could also seriously backfire. Police brutality against small, and even radical, groups of protesters could lead to broader support for the protesters.
This happened, for instance, at the Euromaidan protests in Ukraine in 2013-14, and it seems to be happening now in Portland too. As Trumps little green men are picking up peaceful protesters from the streets, without adequate identification and in unmarked cars, the discussion is moving away from the alleged violence by antifa to the threat to US democracy posed by the Trump administration.
The redefinition of the protests goes hand in hand with the diversification of the protesters. No longer are the protesters just young, white anarchists who can count on little particular sympathy outside of small progressive circles; now stalwarts of Americas conservative society are represented too: mothers and veterans. And they are arrested, beaten and teargassed too.
In a society as deeply militarized and patriarchal as America, vets and mothers are powerful symbols of the existing order. Seeing them protest against the government, and particularly a dubious and unnecessarily violent paramilitary unit, is a publicity problem for the Trump administration. These are the salt of the earth of the Republican electorate, who will not automatically assume these groups are in the wrong. Moreover, many Republicans will have much less tolerance for disproportionate repression to white moms and vets than they sadly have towards African Americans and white leftwing youths.
In short, Trumps decision to unleash authoritarianism in Portland was a poor one. Having ignored much better opportunities like Covid-19 and the Black Lives Matter protests, he is caught in a confrontation that enthuses only a part of his base and increasingly worries the broader Republican electorate. And as the public image of the Portland protester is more and more reflecting some stalwarts of American society, and therefore the Republican electorate, Trump might be increasingly fighting himself.
The fact that the federal police are now being withdrawn from Portland shows that even Trump has realized his mistake.
Cas Mudde is the Stanley Wade Shelton UGAF professor of international affairs at the University of Georgia, the author of The Far Right Today (2019), and host of the new podcast Radikaal
Continue reading here:
Trump badly miscalculated in Portland and even he knows it - The Guardian
- NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn't happen this week - The Advocate [Last Updated On: July 11th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 11th, 2020]
- Antifa, YPG/PKK ties threaten national peace in West - Anadolu Agency [Last Updated On: July 11th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 11th, 2020]
- Is antifa the leftist radical group we think it is? - SC Times [Last Updated On: July 12th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 12th, 2020]
- President Trump in 2020 spews echoes of George Wallace in 1968 - Chicago Sun-Times [Last Updated On: July 13th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 13th, 2020]
- FBI monitors threats against Seattle-area protests - KUOW News and Information [Last Updated On: July 14th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 14th, 2020]
- Investigating the funding mechanisms behind ANTIFA | Columns - Port Lavaca Wave [Last Updated On: July 14th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 14th, 2020]
- Readers Write: Fact checking the fact checker - Blog - The Island Now [Last Updated On: July 14th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 14th, 2020]
- NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn't happen this week - Alton Telegraph [Last Updated On: July 14th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 14th, 2020]
- Fact-checking the weeks lies, misinformation - Pocono Record [Last Updated On: July 14th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 14th, 2020]
- Letter to the Editor: There are aspects of life weighted against Blacks - Delaware State News - Delaware State News [Last Updated On: July 14th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 14th, 2020]
- Investigating the funding mechanisms behind ANTIFA - Port Lavaca Wave [Last Updated On: July 14th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 14th, 2020]
- Fact-checking the weeks lies, misinformation - Waynesboro Record Herald [Last Updated On: July 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 16th, 2020]
- Letters to the editor - News - The Ottawa Herald [Last Updated On: July 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 16th, 2020]
- Fact-checking the weeks lies, misinformation - Echo Pilot [Last Updated On: July 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 16th, 2020]
- NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn't happen this week - Minneapolis Star Tribune [Last Updated On: July 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 16th, 2020]
- Letter to the editor: 'Left-wing' labels misused - TribLIVE [Last Updated On: July 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 16th, 2020]
- Chaotic protests prompt soul-searching in Portland, Oregon - The Associated Press [Last Updated On: July 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 16th, 2020]
- No, we're not all antifa now. But we should be. - The Montgomery Herald [Last Updated On: July 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 16th, 2020]
- Letters to the editor - News - Leavenworth Times [Last Updated On: July 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 16th, 2020]
- Meet the Youth Liberation Front behind a militant marathon of Portland protests - Herald-Mail Media [Last Updated On: July 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 18th, 2020]
- Letters to the editor - News - The Kansan - Newton, KS - Newton, KS - Newton Kansan [Last Updated On: July 19th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 19th, 2020]
- Matthew in the Middle: Mask it or casket - Eureka Times-Standard [Last Updated On: July 19th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 19th, 2020]
- Antifa: What you need to know about the left-wing movement [Last Updated On: July 19th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 19th, 2020]
- Readers Write: Enabling the death and exploitation of illegal border crossers is not compassionate - Opinions - The Island Now [Last Updated On: July 20th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 20th, 2020]
- Loveland man who allegedly held 2 salesmen at gunpoint to appear in court Thursday - Loveland Reporter-Herald [Last Updated On: July 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 21st, 2020]
- The police have long been a reliable source for some. But its time to reexamine that trust - Seattle Times [Last Updated On: July 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 21st, 2020]
- Think About It: Intimidation prospective - Sequim Gazette [Last Updated On: July 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 21st, 2020]
- Lars Thoughts Who Needs ANTIFA To Destroy Portland? Ted Wheeler Is Doing A Good Job All On His Own - 550 KTSA [Last Updated On: July 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 21st, 2020]
- From Antifa to Mothers in Helmets, Diverse Elements Fuel Portland Protests - The New York Times [Last Updated On: July 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 21st, 2020]
- Leaked Documents Show Police Knew Far-Right Extremists Were the Real Threat at Protests, Not Antifa - The Intercept [Last Updated On: July 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 21st, 2020]
- Fact check: Metal bar hanging from Scottish overpass is not part of an antifa plot - Reuters [Last Updated On: July 22nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 22nd, 2020]
- Portland Black Cop Describes the Racism of BLM and ANTIFA in Fascinating Interview - The Jewish Voice [Last Updated On: July 24th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 24th, 2020]
- Theres idiocy on all sides in the law and order road show | Jonah Goldberg - News-Herald.com [Last Updated On: July 26th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 26th, 2020]
- Amy Siskind calls for the doxxing of federal agents and their families - The Post Millennial [Last Updated On: July 26th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 26th, 2020]
- WATCH: Group of Karens form human shield to protect their Antifa kids from police - The Post Millennial [Last Updated On: July 26th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 26th, 2020]
- OPINION EXCHANGE | There's idiocy on all sides in the 'law and order' roadshow - Minneapolis Star Tribune [Last Updated On: July 26th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 26th, 2020]
- Portland protests have no goal except violence and anarchy - New York Post [Last Updated On: July 26th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 26th, 2020]
- Letter: Barr: Antifa has role in protests | Letters To The Editor - Gloucester Daily Times [Last Updated On: July 26th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 26th, 2020]
- Trump sends in the feds when mayors let Antifa riots fester, what did they think would happen? - RT [Last Updated On: July 26th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 26th, 2020]
- Federal officer assaulted by Antifa while making arrest during Portland riot - The Post Millennial [Last Updated On: July 26th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 26th, 2020]
- SOFREP cartoon of the month - SOFREP [Last Updated On: July 26th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 26th, 2020]
- Antifa-led riots clash with 'Trump's feds' in Portland here's why the media is STILL defending Antifa - TheBlaze [Last Updated On: July 26th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 26th, 2020]
- Leftists claim Portland police set their own building ablazebut Antifa proudly admitted to the crime - The Post Millennial [Last Updated On: July 26th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 26th, 2020]
- The FBI has not linked teachers to antifa - PolitiFact [Last Updated On: July 26th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 26th, 2020]
- Antifa is a threat to the American way - The Star Beacon [Last Updated On: July 26th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 26th, 2020]
- Theres idiocy on all sides in law and order road show - Boston Herald [Last Updated On: July 28th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 28th, 2020]
- Crowds launch fireworks at brewery, draw guns on drivers as riots spread from Portland to smaller Oregon city - Fox News [Last Updated On: July 28th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 28th, 2020]
- Ana Tijoux's Antifa Dance is just what the revolution called for - AL DIA News [Last Updated On: July 28th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 28th, 2020]
- Waiting for the Counterrevolution - National Review [Last Updated On: July 28th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 28th, 2020]
- Fact check: FBI did not state that being a teacher was the most common occupation among Antifa members - Reuters [Last Updated On: July 28th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 28th, 2020]
- Antifa is 'very real' and 'very dangerous,' Rep. Jordan says, reacting to Rep. Nadler's claim the movement ... - Fox News [Last Updated On: July 28th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 28th, 2020]
- Police chief believes Antifa, Boogaloo boys were at Richmond riot - wtkr.com [Last Updated On: July 28th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 28th, 2020]
- Minnesota Attorney General in favour of using law to shutter businesses, but not to help victims of rape - The Post Millennial [Last Updated On: July 29th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 29th, 2020]
- Time to defund the defunders | TheHill - The Hill [Last Updated On: July 29th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 29th, 2020]
- Has Antifa finally Arrived in the Jewish State? - The Jewish Press - JewishPress.com [Last Updated On: July 29th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 29th, 2020]
- These are not fireworks: Antifa accused of throwing real explosives at feds in apparent major escalation in Portland - RT [Last Updated On: July 29th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 29th, 2020]
- Before Portland, Trump's Shock Troops Went After Border Activists - The Intercept [Last Updated On: July 29th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 29th, 2020]
- OPINION: Rachel Brougham I went to an antifa meeting and this is what I learned - Petoskey News-Review [Last Updated On: July 29th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 29th, 2020]
- Letter to the editor: BLM, antifa treasonous radicals - TribLIVE [Last Updated On: July 29th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 29th, 2020]
- Police chief believes Antifa, Boogaloo boys were at Richmond riot - wtvr.com [Last Updated On: July 29th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 29th, 2020]
- Cruz calls hearing on antifa and political violence as Dems denounce Trumps show of force against - The Dallas Morning News [Last Updated On: July 29th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 29th, 2020]
- Anti-fascists linked to zero murders in the US in 25 years - The Guardian [Last Updated On: July 29th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 29th, 2020]
- LETTERS: On deaths of officers; Protect the food; Thoughts on Antifa; Group critiqued - Monitor [Last Updated On: July 29th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 29th, 2020]
- James Woods Goes After Jerry Nadler For 'Antifa Is A Myth' Comments - The Union Journal [Last Updated On: August 4th, 2020] [Originally Added On: August 4th, 2020]
- Who is Andy Ngo? From photographer at a used car dealership to one of America's most polarizing media figures - MEAWW [Last Updated On: August 4th, 2020] [Originally Added On: August 4th, 2020]
- Dem Senator walks out of Ted Cruz's Antifa hearing: 'I don't think you listen' - Fox News [Last Updated On: August 4th, 2020] [Originally Added On: August 4th, 2020]
- Left-wing journalist alerts Antifa to Andy Ngo's location, then they try to blind him with lasers - The Post Millennial [Last Updated On: August 5th, 2020] [Originally Added On: August 5th, 2020]
- Cruz's antifa hearing erupts in sniping as Democrats accuse him of giving Trump cover for abusive tactics - Newsbug.info [Last Updated On: August 5th, 2020] [Originally Added On: August 5th, 2020]
- Communist ISIS Antifa: Homeland Security's Confused Pursuit of Pro-Kurdish Americans - The National Interest [Last Updated On: August 5th, 2020] [Originally Added On: August 5th, 2020]
- Cruzs antifa hearing erupts in sniping as Dems accuse him of giving Trump cover for abusive tactics - The Dallas Morning News [Last Updated On: August 5th, 2020] [Originally Added On: August 5th, 2020]
- Antifa Is Mostly Made Up Of Privileged White Dudes [Last Updated On: August 5th, 2020] [Originally Added On: August 5th, 2020]
- What or Who is Antifa? [Last Updated On: August 5th, 2020] [Originally Added On: August 5th, 2020]
- ANTIFA.COM | Join Us & Take Action Now [Last Updated On: August 5th, 2020] [Originally Added On: August 5th, 2020]
- Democrats refuse to condemn Antifa in domestic terrorism hearing, Andy Ngo says - Fox News [Last Updated On: August 5th, 2020] [Originally Added On: August 5th, 2020]
- Anti-Trump messages, BLM and Antifa references spray-painted in Lansing - WLNS [Last Updated On: August 6th, 2020] [Originally Added On: August 6th, 2020]
- Right-wing extremists kill 329 people since 1994, antifa have killed none - Business Insider - Business Insider [Last Updated On: August 7th, 2020] [Originally Added On: August 7th, 2020]
- They Held a Hearing So Ted Cruz Could Say 'Antifa' a Bunch on C-SPAN - Esquire.com [Last Updated On: August 7th, 2020] [Originally Added On: August 7th, 2020]
- Page A4 | E-Edition | thetandd.com - The Times and Democrat [Last Updated On: August 7th, 2020] [Originally Added On: August 7th, 2020]
- They Held a Hearing So Ted Cruz Could Say 'Antifa' a Bunch on C-SPAN - Esquire [Last Updated On: August 7th, 2020] [Originally Added On: August 7th, 2020]
- Tough Guy Antifa Bomber Arrested After His Trump-Loving Grandma Turns Him In - The Union Journal [Last Updated On: August 7th, 2020] [Originally Added On: August 7th, 2020]