Donald Trump, as he continues to unfortunately make another run for the White House, keeps using threatening language to lay out his vision for the country and the possibility of another term.
On Veterans Day (Saturday), he said via Truth Social that he intended to “root out” the “Radical Left Thugs” who “live like vermin.” “In honor of our great Veterans on Veteran’s Day, we pledge to you that we will root out the Communists, Marxists, Fascists, and Radical Left Thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our Country, lie, steal, and cheat on Elections, and will do anything possible, whether legally or illegally, to destroy America, and the American Dream. The threat from outside forces is far less sinister, dangerous, and grave, than the threat from within,” Trump said on his account.
It’s not that difficult to imagine that actual veterans would fall within the categories of Americans he’s targeting, because observers have seen for years who Trump means when he talks like this — basically everyone he dislikes! It’s roughly similar to how he speaks about officials in the justice system across state and federal levels and elected leaders in legislative politics like Nancy Pelosi and Adam Schiff. And the threat is two-pronged, since foundationally, there’s already a precedent of Trump fanatics turning from words like this to real-world violence. The man who physically attacked Pelosi’s husband at a California home of theirs just recently went on trial.
More broadly, a second Trump term could also mean further attempts to weaponize the justice system against Trump’s opponents. And if he gets more people in key positions who support him, the outcomes could be different from last time. And if the courts rule against such efforts… who’s to say Trump would be fazed? Yet, Republicans stand by him.
