Trump inflames tensions and justifies violence

Washington (CNN)  For Donald Trump's America-on-fire campaign strategy to work,
he needs violence to boil in cities right up until Election Day, or at least for enough
voters to believe the nation is spiraling into an abyss of chaos and savagery.

That brought the extraordinary spectacle Monday of a president -- who would by
tradition call for calm at a time of civic unrest -- justifying violence by his supporters
and all but excusing a pro-Trump vigilante who allegedly killed two protesters in
Kenosha, Wisconsin.
At the same time, in the White House briefing room, he minimized police brutality
against African Americans that sparked a summer of protest and agony in the
Black community as examples of officers who sometimes "choke."

Trump's inflammatory behavior on Monday came on a day that
could come to be seen as critical for the destiny of the White House
after Democratic nominee Joe Biden launched a counterattack,
warning no one was safe in "Trump's America"

-- which he said was hobbled by disease and fear.

Trump's day of fury reflects how he has now firmly settled on
a campaign of demagoguery to save his presidency.
In a characteristic piece of projection, he accused Biden --
who earlier condemned violence from all sources -- of
using Mafia talking points and Democrats of stirring disorder
with "dangerous rhetoric."

On Tuesday he portrayed protests at the White House after his
convention speech on Thursday night -- in which Kentucky
Sen. Rand Paul and his wife were harassed -- as if they were
among the most flagrant examples of disorder in modern US history.

In a classic authoritarian tactic, Trump also vastly over stated the extent
of lawlessness and political violence, then promoted himself as the kind
of strongman needed to restore order. And he tipped his hand over his
new campaign tactic by opening his appearance with a boast about the
stock market and a perfunctory mention of the pandemic that brought the
country to its knees.
Then it was on to his real topic:

"left-wing political violence."

"They want to destroy our country. They're going to destroy our suburbs,"
he said during an appearance in the White House briefing room mislabeled
as a "news conference," not even bothering to hide his goal to scare voters
in affluent White areas around swing state cities into believing that Biden
would bring political unrest that would shake America to its foundations.

trump's real goal: Distracting from the pandemic

The spectacle of a "strong" President vowing no tolerance for rioters
may be an attractive one to many voters. But the situation is far more
complicated than the idea that left-wingers and "terrorists" who support
Biden are going on the rampage.
**There is evidence that    far-right groups   and
other extremists are also involved.

Most protests have been peaceful and violence has often been sparked
by opportunists. And even cities like Portland, Oregon, are not perpetually
in flames as Trump claims.
But the President is presenting a simpler and misleading narrative.

**Ref: Gun-toting members of the Boogaloo movement are showing up at protests
https://tinyurl.com/y6vnwj2f

Trump defends Kyle Rittenhouse
on eve of visit to Kenosha
but says nothing of Jacob Blake,
shot 7 times in the back

USA TODAY
President Donald Trump defended the 17-year-old who fatally shot
two protesters in Wisconsin last week, embracing claims by
Kyle Rittenhouse's attorney that he acted in self-defense.

Rittenhouse has been charged with five felonies 
after shooting three people Tuesday.

Trump defends gunman charged
with murdering 2 in Kenosha

Politico•August 31, 2020

President Donald Trump on Monday portrayed the gunman charged
with murdering two protesters in Kenosha, Wis., as a victim

Kyle Rittenhouse, 17, was arrested last week and charged with
two counts of first-degree murder for shooting during an anti-racist
protest following the police shooting of Jacob Blake.

Trump moved from a -105 favorite to -115 last night at bet365.

MAGA

Post RNC bump is common, it's floated around even money for the most part.  I hedged my bet recently.  I just don't know what's going to happen come November.

Yes, it is.

Well if your site allows for prop bets, you should bet that huge if you really think that and post the ticket asap.

https://ibb.co/zs95YVj

Damn you got better odds than me haha I grabbed Trump pre covid at -130 and then hedged Biden at -130 recently.  My book has bets on how many % points or electorate votes you think a candidate will win by as a prop bet.

https://ibb.co/J58BbL5

The Portland Fire Department refutes your contention Stu.

I don't. I live in the Portland area. I live out in the country.

The nightly news, and on a few occasions, my own eyes support my contention. Maybe there isn't a huge literal fire every night but shit is a warzone on a nightly basis. It is not an exaggeration. Not only that, outside of the protest area, and not related to it, but shootings have skyrocketed. Portland is perpetually, if not only figuratively, on fire right now. And on many occasions that figurative fire becomes literal. It's been going on for over 90 days. It's chaos.

Fact check:   'WE ARE NOT ABLAZE,'
Portland fire department says
after Trump falsely claims 'entire city' is on fire

CNN, Tue September 1, 2020
At a Monday news conference, Trump claimed that protests in Portland have been
so damaging that "the entire city is ablaze all the time."

"WE ARE NOT ABLAZE IN PORTLAND," Lt. Rich Chatman, a spokesman for
Portland Fire & Rescue, said in a text message to CNN on Monday night.
"There is a very isolated pocket of demonstrations that have involved fire,
none of which has been substantial enough to need more than 1 fire engine."

These problems have largely been confined to a small area in the immediate
vicinity of a federal courthouse. Most Portland residents have continued to go
about their lives in peace even as some conservative media outlets 
have depicted large swaths of the city as under siege.
Chatman said there have been fires set "just about every night" of the protests.
He said most of the fires, though, have involved contents "inside dumpsters or
trash cans and away from any structures."

Josh Campbell, a former FBI supervisory special agent who is reporting
on the ground in Portland, tweeted that it is a "100% flat out lie."
On Monday, Campbell said he went to Starbucks, shopped at a mall,
ate at a food truck and watched a bike tour roll down the street past
his downtown hotel. Portland residents responded to Campbell's tweet
about Trump's claim with photos showing tranquil scenes in the city.

https://tinyurl.com/y43373l7

lol 

 someone here even create a misleading thread 'PORTLAND IS BURNING TO THE GROUND!!'

As the White House and Donald Trump's re-election team scramble to make
the 2020 election about crime and social unrest, the country is confronting
a deeply strange dynamic. The incumbent president, four years removed from
promising to make the country vastly safer, is insisting that Joe Biden is
somehow to blame for violence that's unfolded on trump's watch.

Simultaneously, Trump, after having failed to deliver on his 2016 vow,
is also telling the electorate that they should re-elect him in order to
prevent the crime and social unrest Americans have seen unfold
since he took office.

In case this weren't quite incoherent enough, the Republican president
has a bizarre habit of accusing Joe Biden of failing to condemn violence,
even as Joe Biden repeatedly condemns violence.

Yesterday, this head-spinning dynamic came to a head as the Democratic
nominee delivered a forceful address, denouncing those who resort to
violence while holding Trump responsible for fomenting societal strife.
Biden also challenged the incumbent president to meet his own standard
and condemn violence as the former vice president had.

It was a challenge Trump failed to meet.

https://tinyurl.com/y3msskkn

from FOX...

2 Members of militia group who support trump
arrested by federal officials

Karmo, 40 and Smith, 33, were roommates for a month, worked together
and were members of the 417 Second Amendment Militia, a pro-law
enforcement group, according to the criminal complaint.

They traveled by car to Kenosha to “see for themselves” what was going
on at the protests, attended a “Make America Great Again” rally
and planned to go to Portland to “take action” if police were defunded,
according to Karmo’s criminal complaint.

FBI agents found in their hotel room an Armory AR-15 rifle, a Mossberg
12-Gauge shotgun, two handguns, a silencer, ammunition, body armor,
a drone, a twisted cable survival saw, a dagger and other materials,
prosecutors said. They each have criminal records and were not
authorized to have any firearms of ammunition, prosecutors said.

Source: https://tinyurl.com/yxhsldxy

reports saythere r a number of such militant groups that support trump who infiltrating peaceful protests and start trouble to make it appear like the protestors r to blame