Who has the most to lose from political violence?

As the summer of our discontent draws to a close, it's worth assessing the damage. The physical damage in cities around the country, as well as the cost in lives, has yet to be tallied. The

political cost is being totted up more quickly — and at first glance looks smaller than feared. But that assessment depends on whose losses you're measuring.

If any state should have been receptive to President Trump's attempt to tie mainstream Democrats to violence in the streets, and to wrap himself in the mantle of "law and order," it should

have been Wisconsin. And yet, the evidence so far suggests the opposite. Multiple polls taken since the riots in Kenosha have shown Democratic nominee Joe Biden's standing has improved,

rather than deteriorated. The campaign's messaging — condemning looting and disorder, and blaming Trump for being an arsonist rather than dousing the flames — seems to be effective.

So Trump's opponents can breathe at least a small sigh of relief about their chances of defeating Trump. What comes after that is a completely different story. For advocates of fundamental

changes to policing and criminal justice in America, the signs are less auspicious, and the violence may yet be taking a meaningful toll.

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Noah Millman is a screenwriter and filmmaker, a political columnist and a critic. From 2012 through 2017 he was a senior editor and featured blogger at The American Conservative. His work

has also appeared in The New York Times Book Review, Politico, USA Today, The New Republic, The Weekly Standard, Foreign Policy, Modern Age, First Things, and the Jewish Review of Books,

among other publications. Noah lives in Brooklyn with his wife and son.