Trump Leans Into the Violence
Is our press corps up for this moment? [Nate Silver's point: "On this one...I dunno, man."]
As the election draws near, he seems to believe he can get away with more than ever.
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Most of all, though, he’s leaning into the violence. Trump, repeatedly and in open sight, is outlining two major initiatives involving large-scale, systematic arrests of groups of people.
His proposed mass deportations of millions of migrants, he warned Saturday, will be “a bloody story.” And he keeps pledging to redirect the Department of Justice against his own political enemies, calling for prominent Democrats to face “public military tribunals” and for members of the congressional committee who investigated January 6th to be indicted for treason. (For good measure, his promises to pardon January 6th rioters now explicitly include those who assaulted police during the insurrection attempt.)
On Saturday, Trump made clear that that enemies list won’t stop with national Democrats, promising “long term prison sentences” for anyone he deems to have cheated in the upcoming election in a baroque post to Truth Social:
"CEASE & DESIST: I, together with many Attorneys and Legal Scholars, am watching the Sanctity of the 2024 Presidential Election very closely because I know, better than most, the rampant Cheating and Skullduggery that has taken place by the Democrats in the 2020 Presidential Election. It was a Disgrace to our Nation! Therefore, the 2024 Election, where Votes have just started being cast, will be under the closest professional scrutiny and, WHEN I WIN, those people that CHEATED will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law, which will include long term prison sentences so that this Depravity of Justice does not happen again. We cannot let our Country further devolve into a Third World Nation, AND WE WON’T! Please beware that this legal exposure extends to Lawyers, Political Operatives, Donors, Illegal Voters, & Corrupt Election Officials. Those involved in unscrupulous behavior will be sought out, caught, and prosecuted at levels, unfortunately, never seen before in our Country."
It’s convenient, and maybe even a bit comforting, to just sidestep this as classic Trump overstatement and showmanship. But the record is very clear that his rhetoric has grown more ominous and his policies more draconian over time.
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David Frum noted yesterday that Trump has reached a point where his rhetoric has become so unhinged that it actually plays to his favor:
"The mainstream media cannot report every outrageous remark, or they would do nothing else. Even those shocking comments that do get reported tend to make just a blip."...
It’s exhausting and bewildering to follow it all. But tuning it out is a luxury only afforded to Americans so long as Trump remains out of power.
For the media, the next few months will be a testing point, too. Will they get bogged down in the minutiae of debates over what is the right level for a tax on unrealized capital gains? Or will they be clear-eyed about the threat? [Nate Silver's point: "On this one...I dunno, man."]