Would Donald Trump Go Quietly? That's Not His Style
Is Trump reviving those anxieties now to prepare us for charges of voter fraud in November? That's often his style. As we have seen, Trump doesn't let an absence of facts or evidence get in the way of his conspiracy theories. His recent political life, after all, began with a bogus birther theory about President Obama's birth certificate.
"What does that mean?" said President Obama incredulously when asked about Trump's charge in a news conference. After all, elections are run by state and local agencies, not the federal government, Obama pointed out.
"You know, go out there and try to win the election," Obama said. "If Mr. Trump is up 10 or 15 points on Election Day and ends up losing, then maybe he can raise some questions. That doesn't seem to be the case at the moment."
Hardly. As Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton enjoyed a healthy post-convention bump in national polls, Trump gave her an extra boost with his own series of unforced errors.
For example, he wouldn't let go of his unwinnable feud with the Muslim parents of a U.S. Army captain who died preventing a suicide bomber from killing his fellow soldiers. Trump also refused to endorse fellow Republicans Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and Arizona Sen. John McCain for re-election.
Trump even (Gasp!) booted a crying baby from a rally moments after saying he enjoyed hearing crying babies. Other politicians kiss babies. Trump ejected one as if the little bambino was a Black Lives Matter protestor.
In a campaign year already shaped largely by working-class fears, suspicions and frustrations about Wall Street, Washington and "the liberal media" and other institutions, Trump's fears find many willing ears, just as Sen. Bernie Sanders' did among Democratic voters.
We have enough baseless paranoia about our institutions -- and unhinged extremists on the fringes -- without Trump and friends stirring up more of it. Even so, this campaign year should serve as a wakeup call to both parties. We need to resolve such pressing issues as immigration reform, trade treaties and income inequality at the ballot box, not on the streets.
Trump has the right issues, but he hasn't been the right leader.
========
(E-mail Clarence Page at cpage@tribune.com.)
(c) 2016 CLARENCE PAGE DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.
