Apocalypse.
Trump has a plan. He spoke it in his own words. He republished it on his own Truth Social website.
It is 36 seconds. It should be seen.
He says the status quo is totally corrupt. His enemies are pure evil and they must be destroyed. To a soundtrack of a beating drum and rising audience enthusiasm we hear him say:
This is the final battle. With you at my side, we will demolish the deep state, we will expel the war mongers from our government, we will drive out the globalists, we will cast out the communists, Marxists, and fascists, we will throw off the sick political class that hates our country, we will rout the fake news media, and we will liberate America from these villains, once and for all.
It is textbook example of the fascist message that came to power in Italy and Germany in the 1930s. He appeals to fear, resentment, and the core human emotion of disgust. There are foreign bodies -- vermin -- inside the body politic, and he will utterly destroy them.
The video was re-voiced and condensed from a speech Trump made in North Carolina a week ago. "Roll out" the news media was changed to "rout." In the North Carolina speech he had a tone of world-weary sadness. Here he is resolute. It was shot in black and white with Trump glowering. He is the face of the retribution he promises in a second term. In the North Carolina speech text he began by saying
We are a failing nation. We are a nation in decline. And now these radical left lunatics want to interfere with our elections by using law enforcement. It's totally corrupt and we can't let it happen.
He also included "we will expose the RINOs for what they are," that he would defeat Joe Biden, and concluded with:
The silent majority is rising, and under our leadership, the forgotten man or woman will never be forgotten again.
Am I beating a dead horse? Isn't Trump old news, a has-been? Isn't he soon to be labeled a criminal and discredited?
If only.
Trump is popular with about 70% of Republican voters. A great many of them feel intense support, and that creates the leverage. A minority controls a larger party, and the party controls the majority. About 60% of the American electorate rejects Trump, but the mechanics of a two-party system, first-past-the-pole winners, and the electoral college give Trump an excellent chance of re-election. Republican leaders don't want to cross him, lest they be called RINOs, and lose support within the group that controls their party. Republican aspirants to replace him are already announcing that they will pardon Trump for any federal crimes. All but Christie want to replace him, without opposing him. By dangling the pardon maybe -- possibly -- a wounded Trump will endorse him.
But Trump is wounded, not dead. This is still the era of Trump. A victorious Trump would be in better control than ever of the GOP. One need not invent an image of the dark turn for America in a second Trump term. He is telling us.
Important. I just finished a leave-replacement position as a high school social studies teacher. As part of my world history classes I had the privilege and obligation to share information about totalitarian and fascist episodes in our relatively recent human history. History, alas, does repeat itself if we don't learn its lessons. I found it discouraging but empowering to renew and deepen my understanding of the Lenin & Stalin, Mussolini, and Hitler years.
He said he wouldn’t leave quietly when he unleashed his January 6th mob of treason. I believe he is revealing himself again. Thank you for reminding the true silent majority who do not support his narcissistic cause, they must remain vigilant. I am confident he will lose the popular vote for president a third time but he could manipulate the Electoral College again or try another January 6th day of infamy. Peter, thank you for being a watchdog for democracy.