What Does Their Willingness To Support Trump Say About Republicans In Congress?

Not To Mention Voters Who Go Down That Dark Path!

This cycle my worry isn’t so much about Trump as it is about his congressional supporters and his voters. Trump is worse than ever— and dangerously deranged— but anyone who doesn’t already know that, probably never will. But how is this country going to move forward with half its people and half their elected officials see Trump as a better alternative than Biden. Rarely do Democratic Members of Congress publicly admit the party is flawed-but-better-than-the-alternative. Yesterday, Jamie Raskin did… and his context was perfect:

Trump offers nothing but political revenge, contempt, seething hatred, lies, propaganda and conspiracy theories. There is nothing left in his message but the lust for total power and the will to say and do anything to get it.

Whatever our flaws, the Democratic Party is the party guarding democracy, freedom and progress in America today. We are also the party of reason and common sense.

On Monday, Aaron Blake’s Washington Post column, Trump’s many dog whistles about unrest and violence was another warning to MAGAts who will never see it that they’re playing with fire. Hey began by noting that many current prominent Trump supporters warned about his dangerous, violent rhetoric before J-6— including running mate wanna-be Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, the guy with the ugly wife and father who murdered JFK. Even Rick Perry eventually figured out what Trump was about. But, wrote Blake, “Despite the predictability of it— and indeed, the fact that it was predicted— Trump has wrangled control of the Republican Party again, and he continues to not-at-all-subtly raise the specter of unrest and violence as a political bargaining chip. The most recent example: In his first interview since being convicted on 34 felony counts in Manhattan, Trump this past weekend addressed the possibility of being imprisoned or put under house arrest by saying, ‘I’m not sure the public would stand for it. I think it would be tough for the public to take,’ Trump told Fox News. ‘You know, at a certain point, there’s a breaking point.’ This is vintage Trump. He’s not explicitly advocating unrest. He’s not even explicitly mentioning unrest in this case. But he is suggestively pointing to something very bad around the corner if he doesn’t get what he wants.” If you missed Maddow Monday night, watch this clip:

And as with his recent “bloodbath” comment, the point is not that this comment is a particularly egregious example of a dog whistle to his supporters; it’s that it’s merely the latest in a long line of suggestive comments. The context is key, and the track record is unmistakable.

Trump wants his foes to worry about things getting ugly— and to perhaps adjust their behavior accordingly. The problem is that we’ve seen how supporters can take his comments as a call to action. (And Trump’s comments, crucially, almost never come with an admonition to stay peaceful.)

Let’s recap that long line.

March 2016 (warning about being denied the Republican nomination)

“I think it would be— I think you’d have riots… I think you would have problems like you’ve never seen before. I think bad things would happen, I really do. I believe that. I wouldn’t lead it, but I think bad things would happen.”

August 2016 (warning about Hillary Clinton picking judges)

“If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I don’t know.”

March 2019

“I have the support of the police, the support of the military, the support of the Bikers for Trump. I have the tough people, but they don’t play it tough— until they go to a certain point, and then it would be very bad, very bad.”

May 2020

Amid racial justice protests, tweets a video featuring a supporter saying, “The only good Democrat is a dead Democrat” (the supporter clarified he wasn’t being literal). A day later, tweets, “When the looting starts, the shooting starts.”

September 2020 (when challenged to condemn white supremacists and militia groups threatening violence)

“Proud Boys, stand back and stand by. But I’ll tell you what: Somebody has to do something about antifa and the left.” (The Proud Boys later led the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, with several being convicted of seditious conspiracy.)

November 2020 (responding to an adverse ruling from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court)

“The Supreme Court decision on voting in Pennsylvania is a VERY dangerous one. It will allow rampant and unchecked cheating and will undermine our entire systems of laws. It will also induce violence in the streets. Something must be done!”

August 2022 (after the search of Mar-a-Lago)

“People are so angry at what is taking place. Whatever we can do to help because the temperature has to be brought down in the country. If it isn’t, terrible things are going to happen.” (Even Fox News’s conservative hosts were skeptical that Trump was in fact interested in taking down the temperature.)

February 2023 (amid talk of disqualifying Trump from holding office)

Reposts a supporter who warns that advocates of disqualification “will have to figure out how to fight 80,000,000 + it’s not going to happen again. People my age and old[er] will physically fight for him this time… They got my 6 and we Are Locked and LOADED.”

March 2023 (before his Manhattan indictment)

“What kind of person can charge another person… with a Crime, when it is known by all that NO Crime has been committed, & also known that potential death & destruction in such a false charge could be catastrophic for our Country?”

Trump added, “OUR COUNTRY IS BEING DESTROYED, AS THEY TELL US TO BE PEACEFUL!”

January 2024

“I think they feel [prosecuting Trump] is the way they’re going to try and win, and that’s not the way it goes. It’ll be bedlam in the country. It’s a very bad thing. It’s a very bad precedent. As we said, it’s the opening of a Pandora’s box.” (A Washington Post reporter asked Trump as he was walking away if he would tell his supporters not to get violent. Trump ignored the question.)

April 2024 (on whether there will be violence if he loses)

“I don’t think we’re going to have that; I think we’re going to win. And if we don’t win, you know, it depends. It always depends on the fairness of an election.”

Eric Wilson is the progressive Democrat running for the swing seat held by Trumpist kook Derrick Van Orden. “Wisconsinites,” he told us, “are people who believe in hard work, community, and respect. Van Orden's actions are anything but that. He is a disgrace for Wisconsin and isn't representative of us. He has a pattern of yelling at constituents, brought dishonor to his military service by participating in the Jan 6 insurrection and supports the demise of our nation. He is doing everything he can to create a divide. He openly supports a man who has said he would be a dictator, is a felon, and believes he is above the law. That is not Wisconsin, that is not our district.”

In an e-mail to registered voters in his San Bernardino-based district yesterday, Derek Marshall addressed the same question we asked: “Is there anything that would convince Trump favorite Rep. Jay Obernolte to turn his back on convicted felon Donald Trump? It won’t be Trump’s 2020 election lies, his threat to shred the Constitution, his civil liability for sexual assault or the unanimous opinion of a jury. Obernolte has chosen allegiance to an authoritarian madman to keep access to power rather than standing up for the truth, democracy and the rule of law… Trump was just convicted on ALL counts in what is assumed to be the hardest trial to get a conviction… and he has three more CRIMINAL trials pending. We need elected leaders with the courage to stand up for our democracy, not MAGA Republicans who put Trump first.”

Arizona Democrat Conor O’Callaghan feels similarly. “Schweikert,” he told us, “showed us all a long time ago who he truly is. He acts like a folksy grandpa but beneath the surface, this is a MAGA extremist who has decided to bootlick Donald Trump. This is not a MAGA district and Schweikert's votes don't represent the desires of the voters who live here. It's time for him to go.”

Over the weekend, Klaus Marre summed it up like this: “We have reached a stage where it has become impossible to simultaneously be an informed voter, a supporter of Donald Trump, and a good person. You can be two of these things but not all three. For example, a vote for the former president is only defensible for a decent human being if they have no access to a TV, a phone, or the Internet, and cast their ballot based solely on the orangeness of the candidates. Conversely, you can also be a well-informed, upstanding citizen with an intact moral compass and think to yourself: ‘Obviously I’m not going to vote for Trump. He is despicable.’ And, of course, you can be a bad person and support the former president. For example, if you can aptly be described with adjectives ending in ‘-phobe,’ then you probably fit the mold. However, what is not possible is to be a thoughtful, caring individual who is following the news closely and then believes that Trump would be a good president.”

He noted that “The only people who should admire Trump are aspiring sociopaths, charlatans, and grifters. It’s actually quite stunning that somebody like him could ever dominate a political party in the way he has. And that’s not even a testament to Trump but rather an indictment of the modern GOP. Because while voters who still support the former president can’t, by definition, be good people, all those Republicans who are going out of their way to do his bidding are much worse because most of them know better. And their continued support for Trump means they are anywhere from power-hungry (looking at you, Ted Cruz) and dumb (hi there, James Comer), to evil (Jim Jordan, you know who we are talking about) and downright nuts (what’s up, Marjorie Taylor Greene?). Many of them fit more than one of these descriptions… and all of them lie for him to deceive the country in pursuit of power. Hillary Clinton was onto something when, in 2016, she said that half of Trump voters are ‘a basket of deplorables.’  As it turns out, she was being generous. Now, anybody who votes for Trump is deplorable.”

He lies pretty much every time he speaks, openly admitted to sexually assaulting women, has a well-documented history of racism, fantasizes about his daughter, and is, quite apparently, mentally ill.

And that’s in addition to being a crook and con man who acts like a middle school bully. 

The fact that somebody like him could become president in 2016 is irrefutable evidence that the US still has many unresolved problems— from overt and institutional racism to an enormous class divide, from mass ignorance to the outsized power that religious groups still exert over the country.

However, the fact that he is once again a competitive candidate in 2024 says much more about the voters themselves than about the US and the former president himself.

…Trump may just be the most visibly self-involved person in human history. Everything is about him (even though he has conned his supporters into believing that he is there for them). So, instead of being there for his voters, he will use them… either as a piggybank or to storm the US Capitol for him. 

For him, it is never about anybody but Trump. 

Here is a man who was/is willing to destroy American democracy because he couldn’t handle losing. And he would rather dismantle the entire US justice system than pay for his crimes. 

Still, just about every Republican “leader” and millions of voters are willingly aiding and abetting him in this pursuit.

They would rather burn down the country than let Trump face accountability. 

The former president corrupts everything he touches and brings out the worst in people. He is a champion for some of the worst causes, which is why it’s understandable that racists, xenophobes, and religious zealots flock to him.

Let’s just take a brief look at some of the things he has said and done this week… apart from that felony conviction thing. 

Any of them would doom a normal candidate, but the awful people who support Trump will let him get away with anything. 

For example, he claimed that the non-violent January 6 insurrectionists, i.e., the people who only stormed the Capitol in furtherance of his coup but did not beat up cops, were the most unfairly treated group of people in US history.

And then, on Memorial Day, which is supposed to unite Americans who grieve for loved ones who lost their lives for their country, Trump put out an abhorrent messag that began with the words: “Happy Memorial Day to All, including the Human Scum that is working so hard to destroy our Once Great Country.”

Hillary Clinton was skewered for her “deplorables” comment, but nobody is batting an eye when Trump says much worse.

Finally, think about this: We all know that, if their names are revealed, the jurors who voted to convict the former president will be harassed, receive threats, and be publicly maligned by Fox News et al. (if not worse). 

Now imagine if they had made a different decision. 

What if they had voted to acquit him?

Does anybody really believe that Biden would have gone on TV and thrown a tantrum as though he were a toddler? Would one Democrat after another have dragged down the entire justice system because of that verdict? Would the jurors be vilified in the same way on MSNBC? And would they receive the same number of threats?

Everybody knows the answer to these questions. Of course not. 

That’s because the entire GOP has become a band of thugs… and their voters are making it possible. 

Shame on you!

Jerrad Christian is an Ohio Democrat running for a seat held by MAGA backbencher Troy Balderson. “There is a lot of dishonesty in the world,” he told us, “and as long as bad people see a way to gain power and influence they will take it, no matter the cost to others. Troy has embraced anger, mistrust and chaos as the backbone of his campaign. He has embraced political favors and lawlessness in place of caring for his neighbors and the families of our home. Trump is a very rich man, and has never struggled for a single thing in his life. Troy was born to a successful business man, inherited that business and bankrupted it while causing harm to the people who bought his cars. Perhaps he sees in Trump a kindred spirit— take, destroy, take some more. The fact is, my home has known more than its share of struggle and someone who has never faced a time without food or housing, or had to keep a job they hated to have insurance, and didn’t know how to escape the cycle— can never represent the needs of our region.mTroy has been in office for over 15 years and we haven’t seen that help once.”

Matthew Diemer is another Ohio Democrat with two opponents Republican Max Miller and independent Dennis Kucinich. He told us that “Miller is a Trump superfan and a former Trump aide with a history of Trump sycophancy. He had a role in planning events on January 6th. He had his wedding at Trump’s golf course in Bedminster in what was called a ‘MAGA wedding.’ In the Trump White House, he was known as the ‘Music Man’ for singing Trump show-tunes whenever Trump was upset. And now, he’s Trump’s biggest ally in Congress. Max Miller has shown he’s willing to do anything Donald Trump asks, no matter how heinous. A man who helped Donald Trump’s administration prey on the vulnerable and attack democracy shouldn’t be allowed in Congress. Max doesn’t listen to our community or do what’s best for us. He only listens to one man: Donald Trump. Our district doesn’t need Trump devotees. We need leaders who represent all of us and who deliver for those in need. I'm running for Congress so I can take down Max Miller and stand up for the most vulnerable.”