Trump calls for day of violence to end imaginary crime wave

The lies, the cruelty and the rage are so present.
Photo: Jeff Swensen/Getty Images

One of the main narratives of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign is that America is awash in violent crime, much of it attributable to migrants deliberately invited across the border by the Biden-Harris administration in order to harvest their illegal votes , and that a Trump restoration would end crime. a brutal end to all this carnage. This is admittedly a completely false narrative, since (1) crime rates are actually steadily decreasing; (2) the same goes for border crossings by migrants; (3) there is virtually no evidence of non-citizen voting in recent national elections; and (4) Trump has no real plan to deal with this phantom threat other than to bring peace and order through his impressive “strength.” But he continues to say these things and many people believe them.

However, no Trump 2024 campaign theme is complete without a personal dig at Kamala Harris, and as a result, the former president has added a twist to his “American carnage” rap about mass criminality on the run by migrants that attributes a rise in shoplifting in San Francisco to Harris. term as district attorney, embodying his “liberal left” hatred of law enforcement and the police. Fortunately for victimized store owners, Trump has a magic bullet: A “really rough, nasty day of violence” from rampaging police officers would solve the problem, as he explained at his last rally in Erie, England. Pennsylvania:

The problems with this rant keep repeating themselves. Yes, there was an increase in shoplifting in San Francisco in 2021, but it subsided, and the rise and fall of property crimes in that city occurred well after Harris left the DA’s office in 2011. The 2014 law approved by voters (in response to a prison overcrowding crisis) apparently responsible for the rise in shoplifting, California’s Prop 47, did not prevented police from arresting people for minor property crimes, much less threatening police jobs and benefits; he simply reduced sentences from state prison to county jail. It turns out that Kamala Harris didn’t even endorse Proposition 47. As for Trump’s “solution,” it’s about as realistic as his previous demand that shoplifters be shot dead immediately. . What does this security demagoguery have to do with the job of President of the United States? Will Trump send the U.S. military into cities to combat retail theft, one of the most local responsibilities imaginable?

The real piece de resistance in Trump’s latest pyramid of lies about crime was his campaign’s response (according to Politico) to complaints that he was once again making things up:

Asked whether the former president’s idea amounted to a new proposal and how such an operation would work, one campaign official said Trump was “clearly just joking.”

“President Trump has always been the law and order president and he continues to reiterate the importance of enforcing existing laws. »

A “day of violence” perpetrated by vengeful police is of course not permitted anywhere under existing laws. But beyond that, it’s striking that every time the 45th president actually crosses the line by openly inciting violence, which is often, we’re told that he’s just, you know, him -even, with his crude sense of humor. The “just kidding” defense also extends to his subordinates, like MAGA social media warrior (and possible Trump 2.0 Attorney General) Mike Davis, as Politico recently explained:

Here’s a list of things Republican lawyer turned MAGA-media conversation chief Mike Davis has said: He wants to send journalists to the “gulag.”

He wants to put migrant children in “cages”.

He wants to “rain hell” on Washington.

He wants the Supreme Court to “dismantle most of the federal government.”

How much does he actually think that? Well, it’s not clear, because he often says he’s “trolling.” …

Where is the line between trolling and reality? “Whatever you can get,” Davis says.

Journalist Salena Zito once said that Trump supporters took him “seriously, but not literally,” an interpretation that gave him plenty of leeway to say horrible things to “appropriate the Libs” and titillate his supporters without any accountability for lies or incitement to corruption. violence. But in this campaign, it’s harder than ever to separate MAGA’s message from the lies, cruelty, and rage that it monotonously relies on. This is a problem that anyone who appreciates the former president’s dangerous rhetorical habits should take seriously. What if he meant every word?