Summer Riots In Minneapolis Have Resulted In “A Lot Of Silent Trump Support”

Who would have guessed that residents of U.S. cities wouldn’t want to see their streets and businesses burned to the ground, with civil unrest and riots persisting as a result of Democratic leadership and a media who continues to embolden the behavior?

That is why in Minneapolis, at least, it is being reported that the summer’s chaos is leading to silent support for President Trump in the upcoming election. This comes as Trump trails Joe Biden in Minnesota, according to polls, and as Minneapolis has slashed its police budget by $14 million. 

But as Fox News points out, the issue of civil unrest and property destruction may wind up “Trumping” what is being reported in the polls for the state thus far. 

Minneapolis was ground zero for riots and looting after the death of George Floyd and prompted – with the help of a mainstream media that gave the riots relentless coverage – similar unrest around the country. 

Now, voters are remembering what happened to their city as they approach the ballot box. Minnesota GOP Chairwoman Jennifer Carnahan told Fox News that the state “had been through a lot”.

She continued: “The riots in Minneapolis and the impact and devastation and all of the fallout that is continuing as we enter October are going to be on the ballot in Minnesota when voters go to the polls, whether they’ve already voted or will vote on Election Day.” 

Both Minnesota’s Democrat Farmer-Labor party (DFL) and city council members didn’t respond to requests for comment. 

So far, in 2020, the city has seen an uptick in violent crimes and homicides, up to 4,234 and 65, respectively, from 3,379 and 35 one year prior. Analysis from the local Star Tribune newspaper showed that the uptick is coming in the least diverse neighborhoods in the city. In addition, carjackings are on the rise in the city. 

While remaining residents will consider this while voting, it has prompted others to simply leave the city.

Former resident Zach Hudson, who recently moved out of the city after experiencing a break-in, said: “Prior to George Floyd, we were actually pretty happy with our neighborhood. I grew up in the suburbs and had preconceptions of what living in Minneapolis would be like, and when we decided to move here, it turned out to not be as bad as I had thought it might be. Our neighbors are fantastic, and we never had issues with people trying to break in. We didn’t really have much violent crime near us.”

But after George Floyd died, “it was a week of mayhem,” he said. “We had our house [almost] get broken into, we’ve had tons of cars on our streets get their catalytic converters stolen. Just a couple weeks ago, I witnessed a shooting on the street next to my house … at six o’clock on a Sunday afternoon.”

Another former resident commented: “There were parts of Minneapolis that were liveable and still are, to a certain extent, but it just became more and more apparent over time that there were obviously more crimes happening. We heard police helicopters more often.”

Carnahan concluded: “You have so many business owners that were adversely impacted … where some of these folks — their buildings — their businesses were just completely decimated to the ground and don’t even exist anymore. It was a lot of minority-owned businesses and people and communities that — this has been their livelihood, through not only their families but perhaps the generations before.”

Speaking of the rise in crime, one former resident said: “You never really get used to it. Everyone’s kind of on edge right now. Even though we’ve experienced so much trauma in the city and there has been so much rioting and looting that has happened already … most people feel like we’re sitting on a powder keg, and the worst is not over in the city.”