AP Analysis: Trump’s 2020 mantra channels Nixon, Wallace

KENOSHA, Wis. — After struggling for much of the year to settle on a clear and concise reelection message, President Donald Trump appears to have found his 2020 rallying cry. But Trump sharply increased his focus on law and order after a white police officer in Kenosha, Wisconsin, shot Jacob Blake, a Black man, multiple times last week as Blake’s three children watched, sparking protest-related violence. “An incumbent who presses the issue is effectively making the case for his opponent, not himself.” Kruse noted that Biden has already borrowed a page from history to challenge Trump’s strategy. “Right now, the president’s advantage with suburban white men is greater than deficit with suburban white women.” There is reason to be skeptical that protest-related violence will continue to be a top priority for swing voters throughout the fall, especially if the incidents of looting and violence subside as they have in other cities over the summer. The people of Kenosha, he said Tuesday, “want people that are going to keep them safe, where their houses aren’t broken into, where they’re not raped and murdered.” Trump added: “They want law and order.” ___ EDITOR’S NOTE — National Political Writer Steve Peoples has covered presidential politics for The Associated Press since 2011.