I was shocked when I didn’t see anything on the news with the headline: Trump Threatens Violent Coup. Did the press not read Donald Trump’s interview with Time magazine? They published an article about it, but of course they did—they were the ones conducting the interview when Trump said it!
In case you have no idea what I’m talking about, the interviewer asked if there would be violence (referring to what happened on January 6th) after the 2024 election if he loses. His response was “It depends.” Trump went on to say that the possibility of violence depends on whether or not the election was “fair.” We all know what that means. He said prior to that that he’s pretty sure “we’re going to win.” I don’t think its a stretch for me to say that by “being fair” he means “we win.” So if he loses the 2024 election there will be violence. Notice he did not say “No, there won’t be any violence.”
What makes this even worse is the realization that we’re screwed either way. If he loses, there will be violence. If he wins, there will be violence. What do I mean by that? He’s already said he’s going to deploy to military to Detroit. He now says he’ll deploy the military to college campuses if protests are still happening. Fascism, anyone?
Republicans in Congress are already giving us a taste of fascism by trying to pass legislation that will allow them to obtain the names and Visa status of all students protesting on college campuses. Why would they want that information? Of course it’s because they’re checking to see if any of those students are here on student Visas, aka non-American students, because they will be sent back to their home countries after their Visas are taken away. This is how the federal government is treating our right to free speech and to peacefully assemble.
I’d love to say that when outside actors who aren’t involved in the protest say something antisemitic or commit acts of violence, the protest is not responsible for the actions of those people. I’d love to say that, but for students in Texas that is NOT their reality. The Supreme Court of Texas recently ruled that any violent acts, destruction of property, or other illegality that occurs during a protest is the sole responsibility of the person who organized the event and they will go to jail,
If you organize a very peaceful protest and a Nazi comes along and throws a brick at a police officer from the periphery of your protest, you will go to jail. Do you honestly believe that Nazis, Proud Boys, or Oath Keepers in Texas aren’t going to take advantage of this? Next time there’s a candlelight vigil in protest of children that gave been killed in Gaza, one of those groups is going to come in and create trouble just so the kind soul who organized the event will be arrested. It is the stupidest policy I have ever heard. You know damn well they are aware that the majority of BLM protests were peaceful and when they weren’t, it was because random people hijacked a protest for the opportunity to loot stores or destroy city property.
Everything going on right now is in total chaos and it isn’t because of the encampments on college campuses. It’s the fault of police raiding peaceful protests and violently assaulting and arresting protesters. It’s because of bad actors taking the opportunity to say antisemitic things and scare Jewish students.
The news reported that police found a hatchet and hammer that was used to break into a building on one campus. A separate article reported that the man with the hatchet was a convicted felon who was not even a student. People had guns, tasers, flagpoles, sticks, and other weapons on January 6th. They physically assaulted police officers and tried to kill them. They stole a riot shield and broke into the CAPITOL OF THE UNITED STATES, destroying everything in their path, defecating on the floor, and Trump didn’t send in the military to protect people in Congress. Yet he wants to send the military into these protests? Please.
If we learned anything from his presidency, it’s that he means what he says. If he’s saying there will be violence if he loses in November, I really hope those in charge of keeping us safe are paying attention and planning accordingly. If violent protests or another attack on the Capitol occurs and no one was prepared for it, they have to be purposefully not doing anything to protect the citizens of this country.
Please vote this November. Vote for anyone but Trump because if he wins, America will become an authoritarian country. All I can say right now is that I am in utter disbelief that our government is allowing it to happen. I never thought for a second that a President could refuse the peaceful transfer of power, incite a violent insurrection, and attempt a coup using fake electors, and be allowed to get near the White House ever again.
