Trump’s address at the Republican National Address was surprising to say the least. In a pseudo-Orwellian turn of events, the Republicans seem intent on proving that things are actually getting better - or at least, that they’d be worse under Biden.
Firstly, they spent the week attempting to equivocate around the fact that there have been over 6 million cases of Covid in the US, with 180,000 deaths. Aside from a vague statement of grief, the Republicans focused almost entirely on the steps that Trump did take, few and far between though they are, including banning some forms of travel from China, laughable promises of a miracle in the form of an American-developed vaccine before the end of the year, and the newly announced $750m rapid testing plan. They completely ignored the previous failed breakthroughs that they’d promised, such as the FDA promising a plasma-based cure, or an attempt to develop a hydroxychloroquine vaccine.Interestingly, most speakers chose to use a passive past tense when referring to the pandemic, perhaps to convince their much-needed voter base that the worst was behind them.
Elsewhere, Trump focused on the recent comeback of the economy, after having suffered record-setting recession and unemployment. While a recession is to be expected no matter who was in charge, the fact is that the Republican campaign was planning to run mostly based on promises of an economic boom, which now seems unlikely to convince voters.
Finally, the Republicans tried to portray Trump as a champion of law and order, and an often under-appreciated bastion of racial equality. While true that Trump has helped to bring about a new criminal justice bill, had many prominent Black figures speak on his behalf at the RNC and more, these are often undermined by his racist past, words, tweets, and especially his lukewarm and at times indifferent response to the Black Lives Matter Movement and the recent protests against systemic racism.
Written by Noah Mitchell
Artwork by Zara Masood
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