The Reporter (Lansdale, PA)

Philly riots benefit Trump

- Chris Freind Columnist

Here we go again.

By the numbers: Countless: Brazen acts of violence and riots that plague the “City of Brotherly Love.”

Thirty: Number of Philadelph­ia police officers, including one run over by a truck, injured in the latest trashing of the city by looters and thugs.

Too numerous to quantify: Items stolen; dumpsters and police cars set on fire; shards of glass from shattered storefront­s; and lives destroyed.

1.4 million: Philadelph­ians who continue to suffer under Mayor Jim Kenney’s unpreceden­ted incompeten­ce — their just desserts for re-electing him.

Zero: On a scale of one to ten, Philly’s prospects for becoming a world-class city — or achieving a level above “laughingst­ock.”

Twenty: Pennsylvan­ia’s electoral vote count, perhaps the most pivotal bloc in the nation.

50-50: Odds that President Trump will again win Pennsylvan­ia.

It’s no secret that the 2020 election is the most contentiou­s in history, largely due to Democrats’ insatiable hatred for Donald Trump. But in what might become the biggest irony in electoral history, the president may be re-elected because of the left’s constant coddling of rioters masqueradi­ng as “peaceful protesters.” Instead of taking a hard line at the onset of the George Floyd protests by employing a zero-tolerance policy for violence and looting, too many Democratic mayors and governors ordered their police to stand down, allowing the worst elements in society to pillage American cities and assault innocent citizens with reckless abandon.

Even before the riots, there had been a surge of “voter remorse” — people who already cast their vote (particular­ly for Mr. Biden), but now harbor second thoughts. With the recent looting making national news, those misgivings will only continue, especially in a critical swing state such as Pennsylvan­ia. Time will tell whether the idiotic practice of early voting will prove the death knell for Mr. Trump, but if it does, and millions feel they made the wrong decision, look for the gulf in America to widen.

The rioters were “officially” protesting the police shooting. Just one question: Why? This is a no-brainer: A guy with a knife is threatenin­g people. Neighbors call police, who demand he drop the weapon. The man’s mother attempts to restrain him, to no avail. His behavior endangered everyone, and he is fatally shot. Sure, we need to wait for the official report, but this appears to be a legal and clean shoot.

The fact that he is Black has absolutely nothing to do with the situation. Ask yourself this question: If the same event unfolded, but the knife-wielder was white, would there have been any protests? Any calls for “justice?” Absolutely, positively not. Therefore, by definition, the only “racist” aspect are those criticizin­g the police and improperly invoking the race card.

Many on the left love to blame Donald Trump for such violence, concluding that his divisivene­ss is the root cause. That’s so prepostero­us that it doesn’t deserve a response, save two things:

A) Violence and race riots are nothing new. From Detroit to Miami, L.A. (Watts) to Philly, and Ferguson to Baltimore, they have been occurring long before Donald Trump.

B) It is not a protest. It is not a statement. It’s a handful of people taking advantage of a situation for their own purposes, and they need to be treated as criminals…When individual­s get crowbars and start prying open doors to loot, they’re not protesting. They’re stealing. When they burn down a building, they’re committing arson. And they’re destroying and underminin­g businesses and opportunit­ies in their own communitie­s … a handful of criminals and thugs who tore up the place.

Too bad no one wants to talk about the other riotous situation in Philadelph­ia, where true justice for victims is nowhere to be found, thanks to decades of feckless Democratic leadership. It’s the murder rate, and it is staggering. With two months left to go, the city has already hit 400 homicides - surpassing the prior high-water mark of 391 set back in 2007. Compared to last year, Philly murders are up an unfathomab­le 41 percent — ranking only behind Chicago — making it one of the deadliest cities in the country. And yes, far too many of the victims were children.

With Brotherly Love like that, who needs hate?

Maybe Philadelph­ia’s malfeasanc­e will help send The Donald back to the White House — a move that could prove to be Philadelph­ia’s ultimate Trump card for a better future. And nothing could be more blackand-white than that.

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