Conservative media helps Trump perform ‘law and order’ in Portland, with risks for November

Washington Post logo“Disaster”

“War zone.”

“Carnage in American cities.”

The descriptions of events in Portland, Ore., were emblazoned this week across scenes of mayhem playing in a loop on Fox News and pumped out by right-wing influencers on social media. The dystopian portrait has turned the liberal city into a test case for President Trump’s latest performance of “law and order” — the catchphrase he is making a focal point of his flagging reelection campaign by portraying Democrats as presiding over urban battle zones in which demonstrators are desecrating federal property. Continue reading.