Donald Trump Is Using The ‘Southern Strategy’ Amid George Floyd Protests, Conservative Columnist Says

In a Washington Post op-ed, conservative columnist Max Boot argued that Donald Trump is employing the Southern Strategy amid the protests of the death of George Floyd, an African American who was seemingly killed as a result of a white officer’s restraining technique. The strategy was allegedly used by the Republican Party in the 1960s to drive Southern and white Americans from the Democratic Party by appealing to racism against African Americans.

Boot claimed that former President Richard Nixon pioneered the strategy, which he said hinges on “law and order” rhetoric. But according to Boot, Nixon was careful to be subtle in his deployment of the tactic to ensure that he never embraced segregationism or alienated white liberals.

Trump is less subtle in his purported use of the tactic, Boot said. The columnist pointed to Trump’s decision to quote a phrase used by Miami police chief Walter Headley — “when the looting starts, the shooting starts” — and suggested the president is closer to former Alabama Governor George Wallace, who also used the quote in 1968.

As Boot noted, Headley, who claimed that 10 percent of “Negroes” are “young hoodlums” that took advantage of the civil rights campaign, was blamed for inciting a 1968 Miami riot. Eventually, Wallace, who vowed to support segregation “forever,” shifted his focus to a “law and order” message after the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act passed.

In one instance, Wallace threatened to run over demonstrators in 1968 after they attempted to block President Lyndon B. Johnson’s limousine. Minutes later, Wallace escalated his threats against the protesters.

“They start a riot down there, first one of ’em to pick up a brick gets a bullet in the brain, that’s all.”

Boot noted that Wallace, who spend the majority of his career as a Democrat, did not garner the support of many Republicans in 1968. According to Boot, his views were perceived as too extreme even by right-wing radicals like William F. Buckley Jr.

“But now, in Donald Trump, we have the closest thing we have ever had to having George Wallace in the White House — and Republicans are nearly unanimous in their approbation. The president is pouring gasoline on the flames of racial division, and the Republican Party is holding the jerrycan for him. This is where the Southern Strategy has led after half a century.”

As The Inquisitr reported, Trump defended his recent threat to have Minneapolis protesters shot amid the riots and looting that have taken place in the city. According to Police Chief Medaria Arradondo, most of the criminal activity on Wednesday appeared to be linked to people from outside of the city.