02 September 2018

Dangerous Ranting

Greg Sargent at the Washington Post published a very interesting item on Friday (link here) exploring how Donald Trump is now spewing a new, more dangerous rant at his bizarre rallies for his fans.

Rather than his usual tirade about the media being an "enemy of the people" and peddling "fake news," he's now tying the media, Robert Mueller's criminal investigation, the Justice Department, and more all together, like it's a giant conspiracy aligned against him and, specifically, his supporters.

Trump's words were echoed this past week when one of his supporters telephoned reporters at the Boston Globe. "You’re the enemy of the people, and we’re going to kill every fucking one of you," he threatened. "Why don’t you call Mueller. Maybe he can help you out."

Fortunately, the man was identified by authorities and arrested. But this kind of remote threat could easily become an actual threat with someone appearing in a newsroom with a gun and who starts firing.

Sargent concludes by pointing out that, while it's unknown how far Trump might try to go in the future, his support continues to shrink. A poll released on the same day revealed 53 percent of Americans say Trump obstructed justice. And 61 percent say Trump committed a crime by directing his lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen to make hush money payments.

It's reassuring that clear majorities now oppose Trump. What's not reassuring is the knowledge that Trump will say or do anything to preserve his position of power. When, with time, his back is against the wall, that is when he could be his most dangerous. We need to remain vigilant if that day comes.

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