SYTFE
Gold Member
- Banned
- #1
At an Oct. 11 rally in Newton, Iowa, Mike Pence was confronted by a call for revolution.
āIām on social media all day, every day, non-stop since last June pushing Trump and one of the biggest things I can tell you that a lot of us are scared of is this voter fraud,ā a Trump fan named Rhonda told him. āIāll tell you just for me, and I donāt want this to happen, but for me personally, if Hillary Clinton gets in, Iām ready for a revolution because we canāt have her in.ā
āDonāt say that,ā Pence said quickly, his hand wavering, his eyes on the floor.
āBut Iām saying it. Iām like Trump!ā Rhonda replied.
This is not the first time Trump fans have threatened to take action if their candidate loses in November. Such threats date back to the primaries, when some Trump supporters began telling reporters that they would take up arms and form militias should their racist, sexist hero face defeat. The calls continued into the general election, when they were echoed by Trump advisors like Roger Stone, who proclaimed that there would be a ābloodbathā if Trump loses. On August 1, following a crash in the polls, Trump himself proclaimed that the election was rigged, a claim he has repeated constantly since.
In Trumpās universe, it is very easy to tell if an election is rigged, no proof required. An election is rigged if Trump loses. An election is fair if Trump wins. This is the same logic that propels Trumpās selective embrace of polls, as he touts the right-wing sources which say he is winning as legitimate while deeming any poll showing he is losing to be invalid. Those other polls, he implies, are part of the conspiracy.
Scholars of authoritarian states have seen this pattern before. Paranoia is not only a trademark of an authoritarian leader, it is a method of movement buildingāone that is playing out at Trump rallies across the nation. As scholar Jonathan Bach writes, āThe more paranoid a ruler becomes, the more essential it is that others share the rulerās system of delusions and conspiracies ā¦ The successful paranoid ruler will make the people share his paranoia, and they will feed on it together.ā
Donald Trumpās conspiracy theories are making his supporters paranoidāand dangerous
-------------------
How many of you armed Trump nutjobs are planning on doing something dangerous if he doesn't win?
āIām on social media all day, every day, non-stop since last June pushing Trump and one of the biggest things I can tell you that a lot of us are scared of is this voter fraud,ā a Trump fan named Rhonda told him. āIāll tell you just for me, and I donāt want this to happen, but for me personally, if Hillary Clinton gets in, Iām ready for a revolution because we canāt have her in.ā
āDonāt say that,ā Pence said quickly, his hand wavering, his eyes on the floor.
āBut Iām saying it. Iām like Trump!ā Rhonda replied.
This is not the first time Trump fans have threatened to take action if their candidate loses in November. Such threats date back to the primaries, when some Trump supporters began telling reporters that they would take up arms and form militias should their racist, sexist hero face defeat. The calls continued into the general election, when they were echoed by Trump advisors like Roger Stone, who proclaimed that there would be a ābloodbathā if Trump loses. On August 1, following a crash in the polls, Trump himself proclaimed that the election was rigged, a claim he has repeated constantly since.
In Trumpās universe, it is very easy to tell if an election is rigged, no proof required. An election is rigged if Trump loses. An election is fair if Trump wins. This is the same logic that propels Trumpās selective embrace of polls, as he touts the right-wing sources which say he is winning as legitimate while deeming any poll showing he is losing to be invalid. Those other polls, he implies, are part of the conspiracy.
Scholars of authoritarian states have seen this pattern before. Paranoia is not only a trademark of an authoritarian leader, it is a method of movement buildingāone that is playing out at Trump rallies across the nation. As scholar Jonathan Bach writes, āThe more paranoid a ruler becomes, the more essential it is that others share the rulerās system of delusions and conspiracies ā¦ The successful paranoid ruler will make the people share his paranoia, and they will feed on it together.ā
Donald Trumpās conspiracy theories are making his supporters paranoidāand dangerous
-------------------
How many of you armed Trump nutjobs are planning on doing something dangerous if he doesn't win?
