re: What’s the real purpose of these protests?

Go with your instincts. Perhaps you and I would agree that on its face it simply and irreconcilably doesn’t make any sense. And I would submit that it doesn’t make sense because there’s simply no sense to be made of it. Full stop. Let’s continue to hope that if anyone is to be hurt throughout this thing, that it’s only them hurting themselves. Beyond that, if you’re not a Joe Biden fan, then sit back and enjoy the show……this is inarguably only hurting him and his reelection efforts and as a consequence helping the efforts of his opponent.