Why the LA protests might be bad for Trump

Polls show voters don't support the protesters, but are even more opposed to sending in the military

Dear members,

I was not going to write about the protests and federal law enforcement's response in Los Angeles because frankly, the issue isn't in my lane. There are a lot of good takes out there and I don't want this newsletter to try to cover everything, and end up covering a lot of it poorly.

But this morning, we got the first batch of polling data on how people are feeling about the LA situation, and I think it's worth covering. Despite apparent conventional wisdom that the events would help Trump (and he is clearly looking for a fight, so probably agrees), the data show voters do not initially approve of his response, even if they don't approve of the protestors, either.

The point is: The default assumption that the LA protests help Trump seems thinly evidenced at this point. They may very well end up hurting him.

It's still early, so maybe that will change as everyday Americans learn more about the events. But at least for now, I think this article is a useful corrective and suggests people slow down the pace at which they are making judgments about recent events.

Data and more below the paywall.