As this battleground state grapples with social unrest, some Democrats fear that the looting and rioting and clashes are feeding Trump’s argument that this is what life would be like under the so-called radical left. The worry is that especially among suburban swing voters, the more upheaval and violence they witness, the more their sympathy for peaceful Black Lives Matters protesters will wane.

“There’s no doubt it’s playing into Trump’s hands,” said Paul Soglin, who served as mayor of Madison, on and off, for more than two decades. “There’s a significant number of undecided voters who are not ideological, and they can move very easily from Republican to the Democratic column and back again. They are, in effect, the people who decide elections. And they are very distraught about both the horrendous carnage created by police officers in murdering African Americans, and ... for the safety of their communities.”

Trump, of course, is positioning himself as the antidote to urban unrest. "So let me be clear: The violence must stop, whether in Minneapolis, Portland or Kenosha," Vice President Mike Pence declared in his Republican convention speech Wednesday night, with Trump looking on. "We will have law and order on the streets of this country for every American of every race and creed and color."

Republicans had chided Joe Biden and other Democrats for not calling out the violence in the aftermath of the Blake shooting. Biden immediately addressed the shooting, but didn’t condemn the ensuing violence until Wednesday in a video posted on social media.

Outrage in Wisconsin over the Blake shooting reverberated beyond the streets of Kenosha into the world of sports, when players for Milwaukee Bucks NBA team took the extraordinary step of boycotting a playoff game. The move set off a wave of other sports game cancellations, ensuring the Blake shooting and its aftermath would touch many more Americans.

On the ground in Kenosha, meanwhile, frustrations were palpable.

“The National Guard ought to be on the corners right now,” fumed resident Ron Dooley, who said he was on his way to check whether his favorite diner had been burned down. “Look at this.” he said pointing to blocks of boarded-up storefronts. “It looks like I’m in the slums of L.A.”

Ingram said Trump was already trying to capitalize on the city's anxieties.

“The opportunism of [Trump] in this swing state — he’s already pounced on that,” he said of the president's response. "He has already shot his big stream of gasoline on the flames here.”

Ingram noted that Trump hadn't spoken about the racism that protesters believe was at play when a police officer shot Blake, a Black man, multiple times in the back in front of his young children. Rioters set fires afterward, and on Tuesday three people were shot — two fatally. Kyle Rittenhouse, a 17-year-old from Illinois, was charged in the killings.

Billy Stevens, an African American man who was helping paint the murals, agreed that the violence and destruction on display in the city give Trump more to point to in his reelection campaign.

“He tries to paint a picture of Democratic leaders being weak. Personally, I think it’s divisive in times like these,” Stevens said. At the same time, Stevens said Kenosha is desperate for order. “Now we’re sending in more troops for a large show of force immediately. I do think it’s needed right now.”

The feelings and political dimensions playing out here, however, are far more complex than left vs. right or pro-Biden vs. pro-Trump. Some residents said they're disillusioned with politicians and people in authority no matter their political ideology.

“I always knew this was coming, man,” said Ronald Grover, who lives across the street from a high school that’s boarded up and protected by police squads. Then, gesturing at the downtown that had been ransacked by looters, he added, “They just need to let this vent.”

Grover's wife, Liz Parsilas, stood watch on their porch, with a Glock 43 stuffed into her waistband. She said she needed to protect her family because she didn't trust law enforcement to do it. The night before, the couple watched a parade of people march by with semi-automatic weapons as she warned her 11-year-old son to "stay low" when he heard explosions or gunfire.

While Grover, who is Black, acknowledged that Biden addressed racism in his response to the Blake shooting, he added that the Democratic nominee "wants to take our guns.”

Randy Bryce, a onetime progressive congressional candidate who lives in nearby Caledonia, scoffed at the notion that Trump is a law-and-order president, noting the cast of associates around him who have been indicted. Bryce said while he never wants to see violence, he understood the frustrations giving rise to it.

“It’s very concerning and I wish it wasn’t happening, but at the same time what other outlet is there for the community to get the message across?” Bryce said. “It comes at a time when the frustration level just busts off the top of the thermometer ... It’s not ending. What is it going to take to get the police to stop shooting people?”

Soglin, though, said he’s concerned some Democrats aren’t paying close enough attention to the business owners and residents in communities coming under attack who want protection. The situation is likely having the biggest effect on swing voters, he said.

“The perception they have is that innocent people are the victims of the looters and the arsonists,” Soglin said. “They’re watching small business people in their communities, seeing their stores trashed. Seeing jobs lost. And people already under stress from the pandemic don’t have much patience for this politics of punishment — punishment of innocent people.”

John “Sly” Sylvester, a longtime Democrat and radio personality who has been active in the labor movement, said he feared Democrats have a "blind spot" to rioters and looters.

“I think there are some people on the left who don’t understand the concept of how important public safety is to people,” Sylvester said. “We all saw the shooting and are deeply troubled by it, but that doesn’t negate the need for public safety.”