The people who are the most loyal followers and supporters of Trump forgive him literally all of his trespasses. Trump knows it, too, and he uses it to his advantage. That's what makes him, and his millions of stubbornly loyal followers, so dangerous. It is also why the threat that he poses to democracy is actually real, and hardly an exaggeration.
Whatever Trump does, and whenever he seems to lean closely towards authoritarianism, or hints at abusing his powers, his supporters either dismiss it as an overblown reaction by the media, or claim that he misspoke. As some in the past have pointed out, the irony of his supporters claiming that they supported him in 2016 because he says what he means, and then spent four years explaining that he didn't mean what he said, isn't lost on most of us (and let's remember that Trump has never earned the approval of a majority of Americans, at least for now). It is similar to how his followers took up the "Fuck Your Feelings" mantra, and then, much like Trump himself, could not stop whining about their own hurt feelings whenever they, or Trump, received any serious criticism.
Trump began his ultimately successful presidential campaign in the summer of 2015, coming down the golden escalator of the Trump Tower and then went on what many considered a racist rant, labelling when Trump said that Mexicans in the United States were bringing in crime and were "rapists," before conceding that some might be decent people. He also wanted to end all Muslim immigration into the United States, even though this was struck down by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional, and critics also labeled this racist. Trump made fun of a disabled reporter, even though some insist that he did not actually do that. Yet when you watch the video, Trump physically starts to do his mean-spirited impersonation of the reporter, and it's on video for all to see. He could have simply and soberly stated that the reporter claimed not to remember the report and then gone on with his criticism, and nobody would even remember that moment. Instead, he went out of his way to mock him physically. There were other serious faux pas as well, such as the whole "grab them by the pussy" fiasco. Yet his loyal supporters - which includes Evangelical Christians who are not nearly so forgiving for other lesser offenses for millions of others, forgave him every single trespass, and Trump won an election he had not business winning (even though, again, he lost the popular vote by 2.7 million).
Once Trump became president, some of his supporters hoped that the enormity and gravitas of the office of the presidency might rein Trump in. That also proved not to be the case. When he seemed to have too much difficulty blaming Nazis and militant white supremacists at the "Unite the Right Rally" in Charlottesville in 2017, some of his followers began to finally show some signs of hesitancy. Yet shortly enough, all was forgotten, and apparently, forgiven. When he trashed literally dozens of countries in Africa and Latin America, dismissing them as "shithole nations" and favoring immigration from countries like Norway, once again they made light of it. All was forgiven, yet again. In 2018, Trump apparently mistook the United Nations General Assembly for a Trump rally and began to boast of his own enormous success, and received well-deserved mocking laughter as a result. He immediately responded that he wasn't expecting that reaction. Yet FOX News and other conservative media claimed that the laughter by world leaders and diplomats was not against Trump, but "that they were laughing with him, even though Trump had not intentionally said anything funny. When he "joked" about how the United States might want to follow China's example and have a "president for life" as well, his supporters again claimed that he was joking. They would have the same reaction when he later said that he might want a third term, and that his supporters might demand that he get a third term. This man, who's sense of humor always seems to be mean-spirited and either targeting others or flirting with excessive powers for himself, always seemed to be "joking" about stuff like that, though. And during his re-election campaign in 2020, Trump retweeted a supporter of his shouting "white power!" and then thanked the "great people" who supported him. Of course, his loyal followers never questioned Trump's big lie about the "massive voter fraud" that they claimed to have proof of for the 2020 election. They never questioned it, even when Trump's own lawyers went out of their way (some of it can still be heard on recordings) to make clear that they were not making a case of "massive voter fraud" during each of the 62 court cases that they had about voting irregularities. By the way, it should be remembered that Trump's lawyers lost 61 of the 62 court cases nevertheless, many of these with judges appointed by Trump himself, and none of them would have even come close to reversing the election results in even a single state.
Now, I have been critical of Trump in the past, obviously. But you have to give him credit where credit is due: he is absolutely masterful at what he is best at: a scam artist. I mean, any one of these things - and probably dozens of other things that I simply forgot about - would have completely derailed any other presidential campaign and likely completely ruined the reputation of whoever was responsible. But with Trump, who proved to be the ultimate "Teflon president," the headlines generated from each of these stories were inevitably buried by his next ridiculous statement or lie or faux pas. He literally looked like a clown to most of his detractors, which included most of the rest of the world, and even most Americans. Yet some of his supporters literally were hailing him as the "greatest president in history."
Once again, all of these tings were quickly forgiven and forgotten. The things that compromised Trump's image, or made him look like a fool, were quickly and quietly swept under the rug. This ridiculous trend persists now, as Trump seeks another term in office for the 2024 campaign. Once again, as in the past, all of Trump's transgressions and absurdities are explained away or not even taken seriously enough to warrant comment.
It's the same as it ever was with Trump and his mindless supporters. No matter what he says or does, they give him
When more recently, he labelled his rivals as "vermin," it also was not supposed to mean much of anything to Trump supporters, even though this is the kind of hateful, divisive language that dictators have used in the past before genocides.
Now, Trump has made clear that he will seek revenge against his enemies with a second term. This man, who once claimed that he would be the "president for all Americans" after he was declared the winner of the 2016 presidential election, is no longer even putting up any pretense of being the president for all Americans. He just tried to comfort those nervous about his authoritarian tendencies by claiming that he would not be a dictator "except for day one."
Surely now, they will also laugh off Trump's admission that, in fact, he would be a dictator on "day one" of a second Trump presidency. And remember, Trump already showed dictatorial tendencies, both during his presidency, and since. He censored any mention of the terms "climate change" or "global warming" within government agencies. Now regardless of whether you believe in climate change or not (and remember, the vast majority of the world community, as well as 70 percent of Americans, accept that climate change is indeed real), the fact of the matter is that Trump censored free speech by doing that, and free speech is a constitutional right. Trump also attacked the constitution when he tried to disrupt the 2020 election process during the January 6th rally. Even those who were with the former president on that day conceded thar Trump seemed to take joy in what was happening, and apparently felt that this might keep him in office, even though he had lost the election. To me, it was nothing short of an attempted coup d'état.
Nothing that Trump ever says or does is comforting to me. It feels more and more that he poses a very serious threat to American democracy, that this experiment dating back to 1776 will effectively end with a Trump election victory, if that should indeed come to pass (and it very well might - I'm a realist in that regard). He makes frankly idiotic comments that raise the banner of his intentions. It will be much of the same from him. Environmental standards will not only fail to be upheld, but will likely be attacked and severely weakened. There is an article by Mother Jones (see link below) where they single out some of the more worrisome Trump quotes. Here are some of them:
“I want to close the border and I want to drill, drill, drill,” Trump continued, clarifying what issues he would assume in the role of dictator. “Other than that, I am not a dictator.”
"The only global warming we should be thinking about and worrying about because it could happen tomorrow is nuclear global warming."
Is any of that supposed to reassure those supporters of democracy among us? As he already did during his first term, he is claiming that he will suspend the Constitution and assume dictatorial powers on environmental issues once again if given a second term. He also claims - for now - that he won't seek a third term. Again, though, this guy lies so much, that his reputation for lying is literally legendary. Even FOX News - traditionally one of his most ardent and loyal supporters - fact checked him during a recent speech. So can we really expect that this man, who is clearly addicted to always being in the spotlight at all times - will simply, peacefully opt to give up the reins of power?
Not sure about anyone out there, but that hardly seems plausible to me. No, if Trump wins the 2024 election, you can bet that American democracy - while still feels like it's become so weakened that it is on life support - will likely take another massive blow. This time, it just might be critical. Quite literally, American democracy might not survive a second Trump presidential term.
Okay, so Trump claims that he would be a dictator only on "day one." Most of his supporters would likely claim that it is only one day, and that he was just "joking." Funny how all of his jokes seem to consist of mocking and targeting political opponents, or half-joking dreams of obtaining more power. The thing is, the Constitution does not permit exemptions, allowing for a president to become dictator only for one day. It puts a pretty strict limit on the power a president can have, and for good reason. There is supposed to be a balance of powers between the three branches, with a system of checks and balances to keep all three honest and on their toes, so to speak. It does not allow a vindictive and vengeful man to suspend those rules, even for a day. And besides, with Trump having lied extensively, why would he trust that he would simply put his dictatorial powers on "day one" to rest after that day is done? Has a dictator ever willingly and voluntarily put his power aside and given it back to the people? Does Trump strike you as somebody modest and responsible enough to actually do such a thing?
Why aren't more people seriously alarmed by this prospect? How can so many millions of Americans still view this guy as the answer to what ails the country, when he so clearly is a symptom of what is wrong with this country? Will millions of Americans only regret the death of our democracy once it is gone?
And we wonder why so many people around the world are viewing us as stupid?
Trump says he will be a dictator only on ‘day one’ if elected president by Chris Michael and agencies Tue 5 Dec 2023:
Trump says he will be a dictator only on ‘day one’ if elected president At town hall event in Iowa with Fox News host Sean Hannity, the former president was asked to deny that he would use ‘power as retribution’ Chris Michael and agencies Tue 5 Dec 2023 23.52 EST
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/dec/06/donald-trump-sean-hannity-dictator-day-one-response-iowa-town-hall
Trump Says He Won’t Be a Dictator… “Except for Day One” by Arianna Coghill, Assistant News and Engagement Writer, December 6, 2023:
The former president, as per usual, is saying the quiet part out loud.
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2023/12/trump-dictator-day-one/
Aaron Rupar @atrupar
Trump: "The only global warming we should be thinking about and worrying about because it could happen tomorrow is nuclear global warming."
9:22 PM · Dec 5, 2023 · 117.7K Views
156 Reposts 34 Quotes 932 Likes 32 Bookmarks
https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1732223868335521809?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1732224262574919920%7Ctwgr%5E353d9141fa48992b0c6ef7088e87a7fe72ecce2e%7Ctwcon%5Es2_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.motherjones.com%2Fpolitics%2F2023%2F12%2Ftrump-dictator-day-one%2F
Trump thanked ‘great people’ shown in Twitter video in which a man chants ‘white power’ Veronica Stracqualursi Sarah Westwood By Veronica Stracqualursi and Sarah Westwood, CNN, June 29, 2020:
https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/28/politics/trump-tweet-supporters-man-chants-white-power/index.html
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