American politics moves away from COVID as entrenched polemics flare up once again

At a time when the US death rate from COVID-19 reaches the staggering figure of 100,000, the focus has shifted dramatically in the past week. 

The President’s row with twitter that kicked off earlier this week has now morphed into something far more serious and entrenched in American politics. Late in the third day of the unrest across major cities in the USA, the President had one of his tweets regulated by the social media platform Twitter. Trump referenced a controversial 1960s Miami police chief Walter Headley, whose aggressive policing tactics led to the 1968 Miami Riots. The tweet was said to be “glorifying violence”, and while it remained in place, a warning was placed upon the tweet.

Earlier in the week the POTUS threatened to “shut down” social networks, after a fact-checking notification was placed upon one of his tweets claiming that mail-in ballots were susceptible to voter and electoral fraud. This latest development in the row between Twitter and the White House is alarming as it brings in the current storm of racially charged unrest across the country. Furthermore, social media is a key part of the movement against police brutality. The movement surrounding George Floyd, who was murdered earlier in the week by Minnesotan officer Derek M. Chauvin, as with most youth movements in the 21st century, social media has reached a wide international audience these names, videos and events being shared across various social media platforms. Indeed it may be the thing that might bring these four individuals to a courtroom, now that there is significant weight behind the protests. While such violence, looting and vandalism cannot be condoned, the way the President is trying to frame this polemic is both dangerous and devious. 

By linking the rioting to his row with twitter, there is an increasing danger the debate will shift from race and abuse of police powers to ideological partisan politics. Indeed Twitter will have bolstered support for Trump to call in the National Guard and to advocate a greater level of reprisals and violence against the black community, as his support base begins to see this as yet more of a media storm surrounding not race and police brutalism but the 2020 election, free speech, and social media influence, let alone COVID-19.