When Trump and the Democrats Scare Their Supporters

This is an opinion from the Center. 

Donald Trump is a human Rorschach test. At this point in his career, Trump does not attempt to persuade or convince anyone of anything. He simply asserts, and the response of almost everyone listening tells you more about that individual listener than about the president or his assertion.

Most of us react to Trump in predictable and premeditated ways. Those who admire him will embrace almost anything he says, regardless of whether or not they previously supported that concept, whether they would be helped or harmed by his proposal, or whether they believe that he believes what he is telling them. His foes will be just as instantaneous in their opposition to any notion he might offer, even if it were something they might consider from another source. So long before Trump took to some of the nation’s airwaves last Thursday night, there were precious few Americans who did not already have an irrevocably held opinion about his undelivered speech. 

As it happens, Trump spoke about ballot security. Because he wrapped a serious topic inside of his ongoing obsession with the 2020 election, and because his recommendations would do little to address the issue he raised, few noticed that the vulnerabilities of voting machines and the motivation for other countries to try to affect our elections’ outcomes are topics that serious politicians in both parties have tried to address for years. But Trump is not a serious politician, and the goal of his speech was not to strengthen the system but rather an excuse to make changes to the voting process that would help his political allies. 

To be fair to the president, though, he is far from the only elected official in our country who tries to manipulate this critical issue for partisan benefit. Both parties have spent untold amounts of time over the years frightening their members with manufactured fables about how the evildoers on the other side of the aisle are ruthlessly and diabolically stealing elections.

Trump’s fellow Republicans echo his warnings of the scourge of widespread voter fraud. Democrats sound the alarm just as relentlessly about the menace of voter suppression. But while there are isolated examples of both problems in every election, the two parties shamelessly inflate those numbers as a scare tactic to motivate their most loyal supporters to turn out to vote. Republicans complain that the Democrats weaken voter security to allow ineligible voters to cast ballots, but the number who actually do so is infinitesimally small. Democrats protest that the GOP’s stringent voter requirements deny legally entitled voters their constitutional rights, yet there is scant evidence of any widespread exclusion.

But speaking of base motivation…
 
With the November election slightly more than 100 days away, polls continue to show that Republican voters are much less likely to vote than their Democratic counterparts. Trump and his advisors know that low-turnout midterms require a strong base turnout. GOP loyalists are unenthusiastic about the economy, conflicted over the Iran war, and many are becoming less comfortable with the administration's confrontational approach to immigration policy. The president knows that he doesn’t have many inspirational tools left to deploy, so the specter of illegal voting might now be his best bet for exciting his core supporters to necessary levels.  Many of Trump’s critics believe that he gave this speech because he wants to end our democracy and remain in office for the rest of his life. But he may also be attempting to use this issue for more practical and achievable purposes as well.
----
 
Correction: I am frequently mistaken about all sorts of matters, but I have rarely been so happy to be wrong as I was in my recent column about the just-concluded World Cup.  Before the competition began, I was worried that our country’s antagonistic actions regarding immigration, trade, and other global issues might overshadow the tournament itself. But I underestimated the American people, who rose above the belligerence from our leaders to act as exemplary hosts to our international guests. 
 
When the world came to our doorstep, our people welcomed them and gave them an understanding of the aspects of our country that aren’t as evident on cable news and social media. The visitors saw America at its best. 
 
Our politicians might learn something from how pride and patriotism can be demonstrated in such an uplifting and openhearted way. And on this hyper-polarized political landscape, we all might benefit from remembering what happens when we reach out to those who are different from us.

Want to talk about this topic more? You can read more of Dan’s writing at www.danschnurpolitics.com.