A NIGHT TO FORGET
Violent protesters give Trump a boost and Albuquerque a black eye
What a political gift. Donald Trump’s campaign should have left Albuquerque thanking the thugs and hooligans who took to the streets to protest the candidate’s Tuesday rally at the Convention Center.
Those protesters did more to gin up support for Trump nationwide than any speech he could have given or any political endorsements he could have received.
And in the process, they made Albuquerque look like the perfect example to illustrate the worst of his claims — complete with reports and video footage of screaming protesters waving Mexican flags, jumping on and vandalizing police cars, targeting officers and their horses with rocks and other projectiles, setting fires and throwing flaming objects, storming Convention Center doors, wearing shirts and carrying signs with expletives in English and Spanish.
If the protesters’ intentions were to generate sympathy for immigrants, they failed miserably.
If their goal was to generate fear and distaste for people here illegally and progressives, and to drive undecided voters toward Trump, this crowd surely succeeded.
Coverage of the melee dominated the media nationally. Some headlines:
“Protesters Throw Rocks at Police Horses Outside Trump Rally in Albuquerque” — New York Times
“Protesters clash with police outside Trump rally in Albuquerque; authorities call it a riot” — Los Angeles Times
“Protesters assault Trump supporter in wheelchair” — The American Mirror
Radio talk show hosts had a field day. “Think of your brain on drugs — and then think of a country without borders,” one observed.
The crescendo grew through the day, with criticism nationally leveled at the Albuquerque Police Department for not cracking down on this lawlessness. Some media complimented the police officers for their restraint.
With APD reeling from Justice Department criticisms over use of force, it’s not surprising it was incredibly restrained. But, was it too much so? Pundits speculated that our cops were ordered to “stand down.”
Certainly people have the right to peacefully protest a candidate they disagree with, but supporters of a candidate also have the right to attend a gathering without excessive harassment or fear of attack. Throwing water and bottles or shouting obscenities at people one disagrees with is no way to win friends and influence people. And, as can be seen all over the internet, such disgraceful tactics were being used even during the so-called “peaceful protest.”
Shame on those community organizers who called for the protest and apparently then left police to clean up the mess of something they clearly could not control, though some reportedly made an attempt. Their attempts Wednesday to cast blame on the media for covering the riotous portion of the street events are disingenuous, at best.
At the same time, praise should be extended to the APD, State Police, Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Department and other police agencies whose officers showed incredible restraint against a mob that was clearly attempting to elicit a violent response.
During his long campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, Trump has said some provocative and wrongheaded things. The Journal has strongly criticized him editorially for it.
But these Albuquerque protesters sure played into his hands. He couldn’t have asked for more.
On Wednesday morning, Trump tweeted: “The protesters in New Mexico were thugs who were flying the Mexican flag. The rally inside was big and beautiful, but outside, criminals!”
To all those people who created such a lovely picture, the Trump campaign can only be grateful.