Trump is waging a war on his own people – Americans don’t want another four years of that

Editorial: Who, apart from the Trumpists, desires four more years of Trump-inspired rioting, looters and vandalism?

Donald Trump Junior, a real chip off the old block and as close to a statesman as the present administration can get (ie not very), frames the coming presidential contest as: “Church, work and school versus rioting, looting and vandalism.” His father must be proud of him, if only for displaying that famous Trump family aptitude for bombast and distortion; and the president, at the eerie Republican National Convention, is indeed elaborating on those themes. For such a godless, indolent man, renowned for his aversion to scholarship, it takes some chutzpah to do so, but The Donald has never been short of that.

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, running more of a joint campaign than is customary in presidential elections, cannot be surprised by the fire and fury emanating from the virtual conference in Charlotte, North Carolina. The attacks on them are predictable, and so should the Democrats’ defence be – predictably calm, cool and fact-based that is.

If they are in the mood to ignore Michelle Obama’s advice and “go low” when their opponents go low, then they only need to point out some of the more excruciating episodes in the life and times of Donald Trump to illuminate his extravagant hypocrisy. From Stormy Daniels to niece Mary L Trump, in the accounts by Michael Wolff and Bob Woodward, and from the testimonies of everyone from Steve Bannon and Anthony “The Mooch” Scaramucci to James Comey, plus a few leaked tapes, there is ample evidence to suggest that neither church, nor work, nor school are key features of Donald J Trump.