The Memo: Trump's race tactics fall flat

[brooklynite]

The Hill

In a controversial speech at Mount Rushmore on Friday, Trump lambasted a “left-wing cultural revolution” and “a new far-left fascism.” At other times in recent weeks, he has made a number of inflammatory remarks about the protests that followed the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in late May.

There is little indication his tactics are working, however. There has been no sign of an upswing in Trump’s polling numbers, and opinions of his handling of racial issues have generally been disapproving.

Trump may have sought to replicate Republican politicians of an earlier era who were able to reap a political dividend from racially coded appeals.

He has used phrases like “law and order” and “silent majority,” which were once associated with President Nixon, whose “Southern strategy” helped flip the South for Republicans — and won Nixon two presidential elections before he was brought low by Watergate.

Nixon was first elected to the presidency more than half a century ago, however. Attitudes on social issues, including race, have shifted, especially among younger voters.