“I guess he was in very big trouble,” Mr. Trump said. From his time as a celebrity real estate developer, Mr. Trump has never been a conciliator, and he has long gravitated toward conflict and sought to escalate it. Mr. Trump and his advisers have grown especially energized in recent days as they have pressed the law-and-order issue and claimed credit when Mr. Biden and the Democrats have addressed the matter more vocally. The campaign has added questions about the disorder to the surveys they have been conducting and hopes to counter inroads that Mr. Biden has made with white voters in recent months. “There’s a lot of hand-wringing going on with Democrats,” acknowledged Terry McAuliffe, the former governor of Virginia and Democratic National Committee chairman.

Source: New York Times August 31, 2020 23:41 UTC