It’s Not a Threat, It’s a Promise

Morning dispatch

What is this thing and how does it work? [Photo credit: Shawn Thew, Getty]

Over the last few days, we’ve been treated to some of Donald’s most bizarre behavior—including a ten-minute disquisition on Arnold Palmer and his anatomy; a twenty-minute ramble after the sound cut out at one of his rallies; and the spectacle of him in an apron pretending to work at McDonald’s. As you know, I think it’s important to shine a bright light on all of this, in part because mockery is an effective tool, and in part because we need to inform people just how unfit Donald is and how swiftly he seems to be deteriorating.

But Donald poses other, serious threats beyond his cognitive and psychological impairment that can’t get lost in the shuffle. His agenda for a second term, which is founded on grievance and a desire to do real harm to the American people—at least those of us who oppose him—should have us all sitting up and taking notice.

Over the last couple of weeks, my uncle has been saying the quiet part out loud, claiming he will use the military against the “enemy within.” Initially, he kept this vague, and the implication seemed to be that he was referring to undocumented workers—which would have been bad enough.

But during a “town hall” with Fox hack, Harrison Faulkner, he got more specific: he targeted Democratic politicians like Adam Schiff and Nancy Pelosi, and Democrats in general, whom he said are “sick” and “evil,” simply because we do not support him and are not going to vote for him.

None of this is normal, and yet, while Donald’s rhetoric in the closing weeks of the campaign becomes increasingly violent and fascistic, the corporate media continues to ignore or normalize his more alarming behavior and language. It’s completely beyond the pale—and also, at this point, entirely unsurprising.

We’ve seen how willing Donald is to cross lines. Remember when the National Guard used tear gas and rubber bullets to clear out the Racial Justice protests in Lafayette Park on Donald’s orders simply because he wanted a photo-op with a bible in front St. John’s Church? Things could have been much worse, but there were still some so-called adults in the room, like Mark Esper and Gen. Mark Milley. There will be no guardrails in place this time around. Donald would face no resistance within his administration if he chose to violate the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act, which prohibits the use of the military against American citizens without an act of Congress.

During the last two election cycles, Donald moderated his speech and positions in the final few weeks of the campaign. Now he seems to have quadrupled down on hate, grievance, and fascism. Whether this is due to a loss of impulse control or because Republicans are hoping that hate will win the day while banking on the fact that they don’t need a majority of voters to win, I don’t know.

What I do know is that Donald has an “enemies list” and is committed to vengeance against those whom he believes have committed “crimes” against him.

It’s a chilling thought which should, of course, be disqualifying, but this is America. We have fifteen days—there’s still time for us to stop him. I don’t believe that there are a lot of voters still trying to figure out who to vote for. I think there are a lot of people who haven’t decided whether or not they’re going to vote at all. We need to try to convince them. As Americans, voting is the least we can do—and the most important thing we can do.