Donald Trump and the Silent Majority -- Part 2

In a recent column I asked this question: Is there a new silent majority in America like the one that surfaced 50 years ago and helped Richard Nixon win the White House, twice.

And if there is, are these “ordinary” Americans repulsed by what they’re watching on TV – the riots, the looting, the general disrespect for authority – just as Nixon’s silent majority was repulsed by the chaos of that day.

I acknowledged that I didn’t know the answer. I thought it was possible that America had moved so far to the left that the progressives had already taken over the culture, much as they had taken over some of our elite universities.

Maybe the silent majority was an idea whose time had come – and gone.

And I ended my column with this:  “No one knows how revolutions will end – not even the revolutionaries.  But if there is a new silent majority, like the old one that didn’t like what they were watching on TV, November 3, 2020 may not turn out the way the revolutionaries are hoping.”

Despite the suggestion that the revolutionaries might actually help Mr. Trump win re-election, I wasn’t trying to say that frustrated Americans, like the unhinged anchorman in Network were saying, “I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take it any more.”

Again, that may be the case, but I readily admit, I just don’t know.

But there may be an even more potent force that will influence the presidential election than the chaotic images on TV.

And that force would be … Donald J. Trump.

The silent majority – if it exists – will have to make a decision on Election Day:  Will those silent Americans show their disgust with the mob by voting for Donald Trump … or will they conclude that as bad as the mob is, Donald Trump is worse.  That he’s a bigger threat to America than the looters.

I wouldn’t bet a nickel on the answer to that question.  But I do know that the polls – at the moment -- aren’t looking good for the president. He’s losing to Joe Biden nationally and more importantly he’s trailing Biden in crucial battleground states too.

The mob that tears down monuments, defaces historic churches, sets up no-police-allowed “autonomous zones” are causing chaos in America, that’s for sure.  But Donald Trump has caused more than a little chaos of his own during his presidency.  A lot of Americans are just plain exhausted.  Every day there’s something new that divides our country, some new controversy, some new dopey tweet, some new reason to question his honesty and his competence.

At his rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, President Trump said, “the silent majority is stronger than ever before” suggesting those “ordinary” Americans will rise up and carry him across the finish line.

He may be right.  But if Donald Trump loses, it won’t be Joe Biden who beat him.  It will be Donald Trump who beat Donald Trump. If he loses his combative character will finally have caught up with him.

The silent majority may yet save this president. That is, if there really is a silent majority anymore.