Trump Can Win If He Follows Bill Clinton's Lead

He needs a 'Sister Souljah moment,' writes Jamelle Bouie
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 1, 2020 12:55 PM CDT
Trump Can Win If He Follows Bill Clinton's Lead
President Trump speaks at a news conference Monday.   (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

If President Trump wants to win a second term, he will need what has come to be known as a "Sister Souljah moment," writes Jamelle Bouie in the New York Times. The reference goes back to the 1992 campaign, when Bill Clinton denounced the words of hip-hop artist Sister Souljah and her statements about white people. For Trump to have any hope, he must similarly denounce the "radical element" in his own party—those instigating violence, writes Bouie. Trump could win over swing voters by calling out "self-styled militias" as well as the type of policing that results in a Black man being shot multiple times in the back.

"Not that I’ll hold my breath," writes Bouie, who adds that Trump "speaks as if he approves of violence in the streets." But the president is playing a dangerous political game by attempting to pin the blame for such chaos on Joe Biden and the Democrats. "The public usually punishes those who preside over disorder, from Vice President Hubert Humphrey in 1968 to President George H.W. Bush in 1992," writes Bouie. Read the full column. (Trump defended the teen accused of fatally shooting two protesters in Wisconsin.)

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