Protestors lay on the ground with their hands behind their back in a call for justice for George Floyd in Times Square on Monday, during a "Black Lives Matter" protest. Photo: AFP

The chaos started in Minneapolis at a time when the COVID-19 epidemic is still raging in the US. And some people are worried that the chaos may lead to a new peak of the US' epidemic.

Many of unemployed Americans have joined the protesters, taking advantage of the protests to rob necessities. The protests have become a chance for Americans to emotionally vent during the epidemic. 

Such robberies will destroy social order, make more people go bankrupt and join the protesters, and again worsen the epidemic situation. This is a vicious circle.

Before the chaos, some US states were preparing to gradually resume work and production. But now, the raging chaos has led to large-scale gatherings of people, and many on-site photos and videos show that most of the protesters were not wearing masks or taking any protective measures. It cannot be ruled out that many protesters might now have caught COVID-19. Large-scale gatherings where people are shouting slogans will further help spread the virus. 

Many US cities have imposed curfews because of the chaos. Some merchants may choose to close their stores to prevent them from being smashed and robbed by protesters. This is a blow to US plan to gradually resume work and production. This will further affect the whole US economy. 

However, facing such chaos, US President Donald Trump threatened on Twitter that "when the looting starts, the shooting starts." He was answering violence with violence and this is a terrible way to deal with the riots. Instead of talking to the protesters, Trump simply regarded all of them as rioters. But many of them were initially peaceful protesters and they had specific appeals, such as punishing the ex-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin and finding out the truth. However, Trump's radical responses incited these peaceful protesters to violence.

Trump could have used better methods to deal with the unrest. For example, he could have delivered a national speech on television and called on people to remain calm and united. He could have focused more on the underlying reasons behind the chaos, such as immigration policies, racial conflict and the COVID-19 fight. 

Instead of calming the country, Trump has avoided mentioning these topics. He has failed to grasp the key of the problems and measures to resolve them.

Trump also said on Sunday that the US will designate ANTIFA a terrorist organization. However, ANTIFA is more of a loose network rather than a strict organization. Although it is somewhat extreme, hastily designating it a terrorist organization may not seem appropriate because those who were initially opposing ANTIFA may in turn sympathize with it. They may think that the government is using compulsory methods to suppress people's appeals, and this will only instigate violence and antagonism.

The ongoing chaos will eventually be eased, but it will bring many short-term and long-term outcomes. For example, it will directly impact the upcoming 2020 presidential election and undermine Trump's advantage. With the COVID-19 epidemic still spreading, the chaos will further worsen the US economy. It has been obvious that Trump is not a president who can effectively respond to such national crises. He has failed both tests of the epidemic and the national chaos. Many ethnic minorities in the US are opposing Trump, and if Trump cannot quickly ease the chaos, it will benefit his rival Joe Biden's presidential race.

If the racial conflict in the US cannot be resolved, similar riots may occur again in the future. The chaos started in Minneapolis will further exacerbate the US' social divisions. No matter how the chaos will be eased, the deeply-rooted structural problems in the US society are not being resolved. US' class conflicts, inequalities in wealth, and racial friction will continue.

The author is an assistant research professor at the Institute of American Studies, China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn