Gary O’Donoghue
Senior North America correspondent
There’s no doubt about the main focus for the Trump campaign in these final weeks.
In Aurora today, a large banner on one side of the stage read “End migrant crime” – another said “Deport illegals now”.
The backdrop was dark, there were supposed mugshots of criminals, everything swathed in dark colours. Now fear can be as powerful a motivation to vote as hope – and often more so.
Donald Trump’s strategy, focusing on ramping up dubious claims about migrant crime in small communities, expressed in superlative-laden rhetoric, has some logic to it.
In essence, it’s a way of saying ‘Look what they’re doing – your small town could be next.’
The veracity of the individual claims – be it pet-eating Haitians in Springfield, Ohio, or Venezuelan gangs taking over Aurora, Colorado, is not the point in campaign terms.
It’s about creating impact on an issue where Trump believes he can motivate his core support to get out and vote, and sow doubt in the minds of enough independents and swing voters who have genuine concerns about immigration levels.
One fact is not in dispute – immigration is and will be a significant factor in the presidential election. The polls have consistently told us that, and the issue has been up there in the top three concerns among voters for a long time.
So expect more of this, much more of this, in the next three and a half weeks.
