A few days ago, I drove by a road sign that said “Trump: Law and Order.” You might well wonder why a man who has been indicted four times would be considered by some to be a champion of “law and order.” That, however, would miss the real point of the sign.
Republicans are extremely selective about the laws they want to enforce. They think you should have the right to cheat on your taxes–after all, it’s your money, and taxation is theft. They believe fraud is OK; if you’re a victim, you’re just stupid, and it’s your own fault. And, of course, a little insurrection is acceptable, because the right is entitled to perpetual political power, so the rioters were only demanding their just due.
What “law and order” means to a Republican is strict enforcement of state laws against violent crime against persons and property. To a Republican, the local and state police are the thin blue line that protects them from rampaging urban mobs. They have to be supported at all costs, or the result will be anarchy and a woke revolution.
Trump can’t even deliver that as president, but he can talk a lot about it, and for some people, that’s enough.