News analysis

Trump stoking fear of chaos, violence to fire up support

His claims of how Democrats want to destroy suburbs are a bid to scare voters, analysts say

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To listen to the narrative of certain right-wing television hosts with tens of millions of viewers, America's cities are in flames and its suburbs are under threat of destruction from anarchist mobs who hate their own country.

Yet in Portland, Oregon, which saw the first influx of federal agents kitted out like paramilitary forces, only a part of the city's downtown area, and a few police buildings in another area, have been affected.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on July 25, 2020, with the headline Trump stoking fear of chaos, violence to fire up support. Subscribe