The Note: Polarization is the point as Trump moves on from convention

Trump sees an us-versus-them fight as his most viable path to a second term.

By
Rick Klein
 and
MaryAlice Parks
August 28, 2020, 6:00 AM ET
7 min read

The TAKE with Rick Klein

Were you better off six months ago than you were four years ago?

That's the awkward question that hovered over President Donald Trump's Republican National Convention this week. It's difficult to pose and dicey to want to have answered, yet unavoidable for an incumbent in this tumultuous election year.

And so the message from Trump, in seeking to transform the classic referendum election into a choice, is to turn to partisanship and polarization. Trump wants an us-versus-them fight, and sees it as his most viable path to a second term.

"The fact is I'm here," Trump said as part of his acceptance speech in front of the White House. "But I'll say it differently: We're here."

For all the attempts to soften Trump's harder edges, and to showcase Republicans who are people of color, the convention showed a candidate interested less in reaching out than in riling up. It's part of Trump's style -- as adapted for the unprecedented crises of the moment.

Last week, Democrats cast Republicans not named Trump as generally well-meaning people worthy of outreach from a new president. This week, Republicans portrayed Democrats as enemies of democracy -- defined by their most extreme elements, worthy of mockery and deserving of crushing defeat.

Trump's speech Thursday night was a long roadmap back to partisan corners. It's where he's comfortable; the question now is whether he can take his base and the nation with him.

The RUNDOWN with MaryAlice Parks

The day after Trump was inaugurated, Washington saw the Women's March.

Now, a day after accepting his party's nomination for a second term -- and days after the shocking shooting of Jacob Blake sparked outrage -- thousands are expected to flood the streets again, this time commemorating the 57th anniversary of the March on Washington when Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech.

While this year's March on Washington was not billed as a protest of this president specifically, this moment will likely draw march-goers in direct opposition to this White House as well as those who are a part of a greater national movement so much bigger than this administration.

That movement is, of course, seeking changes and equity in society beyond party politics, recognition and justice not solved by one election.

Still, over the last few days, Republicans have squarely presented themselves on one-side of this moment, if not missing from the conversation all together. They have doubled-down on rhetoric about law and order, while largely ignoring or even belittling issues of police shootings, police brutality and racial inequity that has led so many to strike and protest.

In fact, Trump on Thursday seemed to mock Democrats' displays of solidarity with protesters.

Several leading Democrats though, including Sen. Cory Booker, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and vice presidential nominee Sen. Kamala Harris are set to join a virtual event, hosted by the NAACP and members of the King family, that will accompany the march Friday. The event will also include families of black Americans shot or killed at the hands of police, including relatives of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Trayvon Martin and Eric Garner.

The TIP with Will Steakin and Justin Gomez

With 66 days to go until Election Day, Trump is wasting no time getting back out on the campaign trail, holding another airport hangar rally in Manchester, New Hampshire, on Friday night, just a day after formally accepting his party's nomination.

Events like Friday's rally at Pro Star Aviation hangar are set to become the norm for the president moving forward, sources told ABC News. After months of trying to reboot his signature massive MAGA rallies in the era of COVID-19, Trump has settled on targeting key states with these hangar events mixed with traditional campaign stops at local diners and restaurants.

Pence, who'd become the Trump Team's key campaigner with rallies on hold in recent weeks, is also set to hit the trail again Friday, campaigning in the battleground states of Michigan, which Trump unexpectedly and narrowly won in 2016, and Minnesota.

He's expected to promote the president's "America First" agenda and portray Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden as a candidate who "fully embraced radical left policies." Trump lost Minnesota in 2016 by less than 2% and Pence will be speaking in St. Louis County, an area Hillary Clinton won with 51% of the vote.

THE PLAYLIST

ABC News' "Start Here" Podcast. Friday morning's episode features ABC News Political Director Rick Klein, who recaps President Donald Trump's acceptance speech Thursday night at the Republican National Convention. ABC News contributor and former DHS acting undersecretary John Cohen examines the rise of right-wing militias after the deadly violence during protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin. And ABC News Senior National correspondent Matt Gutman explains why many areas in Louisiana and Texas were spared from the worst of Hurricane Laura. http://apple.co/2HPocUL

ABC News' "Powerhouse Politics" podcast. Ahead of the last night of the Republican National Convention, Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said on the podcast that speakers at the RNC can and should mention Jacob Blake's name, a man who was shot by police seven times in Wisconsin, as Blake's name was only briefly mentioned in the prayer on Tuesday night. ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Jonathan Karl and Political Director Rick Klein speak with Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, who spoke earlier in the week at the RNC. https://bit.ly/2w091jE

FiveThirtyEight's Politics Podcast. After the third night of the 2020 Republican National Convention, the FiveThirtyEight Politics podcast crew discusses the keynote address by Vice President Mike Pence, who used Nixonian law-and-order rhetoric to appeal to voters. https://bit.ly/2w091jE

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW THIS WEEKEND

  • On the 57th anniversary of the historic 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, ABC's “20/20” will present “The March,” a film narrated by actor Denzel Washington that tells the story about how this crucial moment in the civil rights movement began. With the Virtual March on Washington on August 27 to 28, “20/20” also features reporting by ABC News Correspondent Deborah Roberts and includes new interviews with Martin Luther King III and more. “20/20” airs on Friday, Aug. 28, 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET.
  • President Donald Trump receives a briefing on Hurricane Laura at 2:30 p.m. in the Oval Office and then he travels to New Hampshire where he will deliver remarks in Manchester at a hangar at the Manchester-Boston Regional Airport at 6 p.m.
  • Sen. Kamala Harris virtually attends the "Get Your Knee Of Our Necks" march in Washington, D.C. at 11 a.m. Later, she attends Biden for President finance events. She also hosts the virtual launch of Biden for President's new Hispanic small business organizing program, Nuestros Negocios at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
  • Sunday on ABC's "This Week": The Powerhouse Roundtable discusses all the week's politics with former New Jersey Governor and ABC News Contributor Chris Christie, former Chicago Mayor and ABC News Contributor Rahm Emanuel, Dispatch Staff Writer and CNN Political Analyst Sarah Isgur, and Democratic Strategist, former Clinton Campaign Spokesperson and CNN Political Commentator Karen Finney.

    • Download the ABC News app and select "The Note" as an item of interest to receive the day's sharpest political analysis.

    The Note is a daily ABC News feature that highlights the day's top stories in politics. Please check back Monday for the latest.