News Analysis: Rising U.S. racial tensions could benefit Trump's presidential campaign

Rising racial tensions in the United States could help Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in his narrative that law and order is breaking down in the country.

Last week saw several events that foreshadow a chaotic summer. In two separate incidents, two black men were fatally shot by police, and a dozen police officers -- including five fatally -- were shot by a black sniper in Dallas, Texas, who wanted to kill white cops.

Riots broke out over the weekend over the shootings of African Americans, and 300 people were arrested in protests around the country. Demonstrators in the city of St. Paul, Missouri threw Molotov cocktails and rocks at police, grabbing headlines nationwide.

"I think this might benefit Trump's campaign given that the promise of law and order has been central to his campaign," Julian Zelizer, professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University, told Xinhua.

Trump will clearly use this as a way to rally supporters who feel that the nation has moved in the wrong direction, Zelizer said, referring to his supporters' sense that the country is becoming more dangerous amid what is perceived as less support for police officers.

Indeed, Trump is a staunch supporter of police at a time when many officers feel they are under siege.

Speaking via video on Friday, Trump said the deaths of the officers had shaken "the soul of our nation," adding that such an attack on a police force is "an attack on our country, and an attack on our families."

"We must stand in solidarity with law enforcement, which we must remember is the force between civilization and total chaos," Trump said.

Referring to the two black men killed by police last week, Trump said the incidents show "how much work we have to do in order to make every American feel that their safety is protected."

The New York real estate tycoon added that the country's racial divide has "gotten worse, not better."

In a campaign speech in Virginia on Monday, Trump claimed that he is the "law and order candidate," vowing to maintain law and order at the highest level, "or we will cease to have a country, 100 percent."

For her part, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has called for police reform, and national standards on police use of force.

Zelizer said last week's violence can help Clinton within her party if she demonstrates that she is committed to dealing with issues of criminal justice reform.

"If she does not, I suspect that she could be harmed by this," he said.

Accusations of police bias against African Americans have for decades been in the public eye in the United States.

The issue once again came to the forefront in 2014, after the killing of Michael Brown, a black man, by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, which set off massive riots in the city and continued nationwide. Endit