Here is my advice for Donald Trump, whose campaign rally in Chicago yesterday was canceled due to protests. He should make the following announcement:
I hereby call upon my supporters to refrain from scuffling with protesters. Obviously, anyone who is attacked has a right (morally and legally) to defend him- or herself, but nobody who supports me should start a fight or otherwise act aggressively while at one of my events. I also call upon Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders to insist that their supporters refrain from interfering with my campaign speeches in any way, including by starting fights. I have a right (morally and legally) to speak. It is essential to the political process in which we are involved that candidates be allowed to address potential voters and supporters. There is no reason that this cannot be done peaceably. I shouldn't have to remind anyone of this, but the proper response to speech you don't like is speech of your own—in your own venue. Finally, I would ask police officers in each city in which I speak to intervene immediately in any scuffle that breaks out, arresting not only those who break the law but those who attempt to disrupt the event. America will be watching to see which candidate's supporters act civilly and which act belligerently. Thank you.
The effect of this announcement will be to remind Americans that the protesters are aligned with other candidates. Why should Trump be responsible for the bad behavior of his supporters while Clinton and Sanders aren't responsible for theirs? I think it will become clear that the vast majority of antisocial people at Trump's events are progressives (e.g., Marxists, communists, socialists, anarchists, radical environmentalists, militant atheists, race hustlers, climate kooks, and egalitarians). Some, of course, are professional thugs.
Addendum: Here is the latest.
