CHARLES LIPSON: The Political Logic of Trump’s Executive Order on Policing.

First, it allows Trump to tell swing voters, “See, I’m not a hardline law-and-order president. I want to restore order, of course, but I want enforcement to be fair and applied in a race-neutral way. Policing is a difficult and dangerous job, but a necessary one. Whenever possible, it should be done with the least violence possible.” Who could object to that message? It is especially important for the president to deliver it after the harsh police confrontation around Lafayette Park last week and Trump’s support for it.

Second, Trump’s Rose Garden speech does something he normally does poorly: speak to the country with a unifying voice. He much prefers to punch back, not rise above. But there are times when the country cries out for unity and a calm voice, not a smack in the kisser. This is one such moment. Democrats will try to strip Trump of that unifying mantel, saying his speech and his executive order did not go far enough and were purely partisan. Speaker Pelosi, Minority Leader Schumer, and their colleagues will say that they alone can speak for the country, and especially for African Americans. The mainstream media will reinforce their message.

Third, Trump’s executive order lets him embrace widely agreed-upon points about police reform, make them his own (or at least bipartisan), and leave the Democrats fighting for only the more controversial and extreme proposals.

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