Debate question about race is blasted as favoring Trump
The topics for the first presidential debate focus on issues that have dominated the news throughout 2020 — the economy, the coronavirus pandemic and the records of the two leading contenders.
But the framing of one of the debate topics has set off alarms and objections.
“Race and Violence in our Cities” — the title of one of the segments announced by moderator Chris Wallace of Fox News on Tuesday — seems to echo President Donald Trump’s contentious characterization of the protests that have swept American cities this summer and gives a false sense of the issue, critics say.
Instead of alluding to the concerns about racial justice and police brutality that inspired the protests, liberal commentators and advocacy groups complained the phrasing suggests Trump’s framing of Black Lives Matter as an inherently violent movement.
“‘Race and violence in our cities’ as a topic is really leaning hard into the Trump narrative,” former Obamaadministration spokesman Tommy Vietor wrote on Twitter.
The political arm of liberal Jewish group Bend the Arc called it “barely coded language that reinforces anti-black fear-mongering.”
“We should be talking about the threat ofwhite nationalism — from right-wing militias to extremists in Congress & the White House,” the organization tweeted.
“‘Race and violence in our cities ... ???’ Seriously??” tweeted MSNBC host Joy Reid. “Is this a debate or an episode of Fox & Friends?”
Wallace didn’t respond to a request for comment. The veteran newsman selected the topics that will occupy each 15-minute segment of the 90-minute debate Tuesday from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.
The other topics are more generically named: “The Trump and Biden Records.” “The Supreme Court,” “COVID-19,” “The Economy,” and “The Integrity of the Election.”
All summer, cable networks have been scrutinized and secondguessed for their coverage of protests and rioting.
Fox News critics contend that the network has been overly fixated on the relatively small number of rioters and ignored the largely peaceful protests against police violence, while other critics have accused CNN and MSNBC of downplaying or ignoring the violence that has occurred.
Trump has made “law and order” a campaign catchphrase and repeatedly has sought to tie looting and violence that occurred during organized protest marches to Joe Biden and Democrats.
At the same time, Trump has tried to appeal towhat he often refers to as “suburban” voters by claiming that they’re at risk if he isn’t re-elected.
“If I don’t win, America’s Suburbs will be OVERRUN with Low Income Projects, Anarchists, Agitators, Looters and, of course, ‘Friendly Protesters,’ ” he tweeted Sept. 10.
Hence, “Race and Violence in our Cities,” in the viewofmany liberal critics, suggests that the primary issue surrounding the protests this summer is violence — not justice, as its supporters say.
It also shifts the focus away from the cause of the protests themselves: the use of deadly force by police against African Americans, and racial inequities in general.
In Kenosha, a Wisconsin city of 100,000 people, protests erupted after awhite police officer shot 29year-old Jacob Blake, who is Black, seventimes in the back, paralyzing him.
In response, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, called in the National Guard. Authorities later arrested and charged a White counterprotester, 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse, with homicide after the fatal shooting of two protesters.
In the aftermath, Trump continued to promote the image of riottorn cities and defended Rittenhouse, saying he acted in self-defense.
“Far-left politicians continue to push the destructive message that our nation and our law enforcement are oppressive or racist,” Trump said during his visit to Kenosha.
Biden, who also visitedkenosha and met with the Blake family, denounced rioting and looting as “not protesting” and signaled support for demands to end systemic racism in policing.