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  • The Marshall Project

    What Trump Really Means When He Tweets “LAW & ORDER!!!"

    A brief history of a political dog whistle.
    by Beth Schwartzapfel Oct 07, 2020 6 minutes

    In speeches and tweets in recent months, during historic protests against police violence toward Black Americans, President Trump has been hammering a familiar three-word phrase that he hopes will energize his base and help him win the November election:

    According to a new Wall Street Journal database that tracks the candidates’ public comments on a wide range of issues, Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have mentioned “law and order” on the stump more than 90 times this year, including seven from Trump in the first presidential debate on Sept. 29. The president even tweeted while hospitalized with COVID-19 earlier this week, “LAW & ORDER. VOTE!”

    In the months since demonstrations arose over the deaths of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Breonna Taylor in Louisville and the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, among other incidents of police violence, Trump has doubled down on this message, sending National Guard troops to Kenosha and , Oregon. “People of Portland, and other Democrat run cities, are. “They want Law & Order!”

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