Trump tells supporters, ‘Guard the vote.’
Here’s the phrase’s backstory and why it’s
raising concern
...it signals permission to take extreme measures that could intimidate voters and threaten election workers.
...activists in the far-right movement have been setting the groundwork for it to be deployed more widely.Former national security adviser Michael Flynn has spent months repeating the phrase in posts, speeches and interviews.
Trump employed the phrase in Ankeny, Iowa, on Saturday, saying his followers need to “guard the vote” because “we have all the votes we need.” He encouraged his supporters to “go into” cities including Detroit, Philadelphia and Atlanta to “watch those votes when they come in.”
Experts in political messaging say the context in which Trump uses “guard the vote” primes his supporters to not only expect fraud in diverse Democratic cities next year, but to intervene to ensure Trump wins.
“It suggests that the outcome of the election is foregone. It’s been decided, [for Trump]” said Susan Benesch, founder and executive director of the Dangerous Speech Project. “...guarding...against a result in which Trump is not declared the winner?”
...[Flynn] discussed being at ballot boxes “24/7” to videotape people dropping off
ballots. In a post on X last month, he referenced “concerned citizen
guards” at ballot boxes. On Telegram in July, he wrote “#WeThePeople are
going to be checking on all of you and the entire election system from
top to bottom, start to finish, sunup to sundown.”
[Victor] Mellor [close Flynn associate], who owns a concrete business and has been politically active in Sarasota County, Florida, told AP this week that he established a group called “Guard the Vote,” which would connect members of law enforcement and citizens to do training about elections.
Involving law enforcement is prepping for a coup d'etat.
Mellor shared few details about the group’s plans but said it would involve “educated Americans, educated law enforcement.”
...
Jennifer Mercieca, a historian of political rhetoric at Texas DE&I University said. "...that’s how fascism works. You say politics is war and the enemy cheats. It’s up to us.”
She said Trump’s repeated claims that there will be cheating in an election that hasn’t happened yet is a way of enlisting his followers into his conspiracy theory. Trump also suggested the elections were rigged against him even before the votes in 2016 and 2020.
“You tell the population that the rules are already broken. ...They’re so corrupt. They are such big cheaters. They are enemies. They are threats. And then you say, And it’s up to us to defend it.”
“It’s still a part of Trump’s Jan. 6 insurrection. He’s still ‘couping,’” she said.
ELECTION OFFICIALS SAY THEY WON’T BE DETERRED
Election officials in the cities Trump named say they are committed to a safe and secure election in 2024 and won’t be intimidated by Trump or anyone else.
“Detroiters are not scaredy cats. We’re not chumps, we’re not to be picked on,” said Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey. “So they can come if they want to, absolutely. We’re ready.”
“This is nothing new, Trump says these things before every election,” Philadelphia City Commissioners’ Chairwoman Lisa Deeley said in a statement. “In 2016, he said that they had to watch and make sure that people didn’t vote five times. In 2020, there was ‘Bad Things Happen in Philadelphia’. Each of those elections, 2016 and 2020, were completely fair and accurate and that is what we will continue to deliver in 2024.”
Officials said they’ve taken steps to improve election security since 2020. In Detroit, for example, election officials have reinforced their building with bulletproof glass and increased security present during vote-counting.
My take on this if that Trumpie couldn't pull it off in 2016 or 2020, the latter when he had command of the country's entire federal law enforcement and military, and the approval of large segments of law enforcement. Involving local law enforcement actively as Concrete Head Mellor is attempting to do is attempting to organize the police. BUT, they are not going to pull this off or come remotely close. Polling sites are going to be swarming with federal law enforcement to guard against "Guard The Vote" and as you read, the cities are ready. Like Rick said to the Nazi in Casablanca, "I wouldn't advise going into the Bronx." I'd like to see Concrete Head and Flim-Flam Flynn personally go to Detroit or Philadelphia to ensure Trumpie wins. They'll come out in a pine box, what's left of them.
