The polls are tight, and Donald Trump’s desperation is steadily increasing, as noted by his outbursts and bizarre behavior at his self-indulgent rallies. More than any presidential candidate ever, his future depends on the outcome. Win and he can effectively cancel most pending trials against him and attain the presidential immunity the Supreme Court bestowed upon sitting presidents. Lose and he'll face potential jail time from the 34 New York State convictions and other trials on the remaining charges the Supreme Court might let stand.
Since Kamala Harris replaced Joe Biden as the Democratic candidate for president, Trump went from what looked like an easy victory to being slightly behind in most polls, often within the margin of error. Trump followers have been fed more lies, describing the non-MAGA universe (most of us) as the “enemy within.” Trump has threatened the use of the National Guard or the military.
“I think the bigger problem is the enemy from within…We have some very bad people, some sick people, radical left lunatics," said Trump. "And it should be very easily handled by, if necessary, by National Guard, or if really necessary, by the military. We have two enemies. We have the outside enemy. And, and then we have the enemy from within. And the enemy from within, in my opinion, is more dangerous than China, Russia, and all these countries.”
Trump demonstrated his ability to provoke MAGA to violence on January 6, 2021. What will happen after the 2024 election if Trump is again the loser? What are the chances he will acknowledge losing (he still hasn’t accepted losing the 2020 election)? Trump's whining has been a staple of the past four years. Still, his followers have become increasingly violent in their Internet discussions, and some percentage, however small, will bring that violence into the real world.
Bonsu Thompson
I talk to MAGA people all the time; I meet them where they can be their true selves, anonymous on the Internet. Sometimes, they stray into the comments section where I post my articles, but they don’t stay long because they get no support for their views. I semi-regularly visit Constitutional lawyer Jonathan Turley’s blog, where he discusses a range of legal topics, consistently defending Trump’s actions and criticizing Democrats, though he is a Democrat himself. Turley appeared in both of Trump’s impeachments on Trump’s behalf.
Turley himself doesn’t scream like some of his counterparts. He smiles when appearing on Fox News as a commentator. He hasn’t interacted with his followers in the several years I’ve paid attention. He generally throws out the red meat and watches the scrum from afar.
Since the 2024 election, Turley’s blog commenters have become increasingly mean and are more likely to respond to any difference of opinion with name-calling. They frequently refer to violent solutions to non-violent problems. They don’t generally believe Trump lost in 2020 and see no possible way he could lose in 2024 unless Democrats cheat. There used to be people who engaged in legitimate conversation and were happy to exchange views, but they are long gone. Every topic Turley brings up, even if totally unrelated to Trump and the election, becomes an attack on Democrats, “lefties,” and the DNC, which take on an importance I’ve never seen. There is a moderator that regulates foul language, but there’s no problem with personal attacks. Here are some samples of the comments:
“The sheeple could be easily contained, but the soros-funded legal teams will wreak havoc on our governmental systems and caste grave doubt as to the legitimacy of our election. Even if we gain control of all branches, those little prog/jihadis will continue their destruction of whatever they touch. We need to disinfect our nation of these America-haters first thing after we close the border.”
“As I have stated several times while watching the blatant disregard of the Constitutional Rights and authority of various people, agencies and groups over the last 3+ years. This will get worse until the Congress enacts hash penalties for willful and malicious violations of the Constitution. Those penalties must include prison time for those involved and the disbarment of any Lawyer that supports such violations. The entire Democratic National Communist (DNC) party plan is to remove/ignore the Bill of Rights and the various Amendments in order to enact their Control and Rule. MRR”
“If Trump wins, the risk is high the dems will not accept it. First, we will see lawsuits in every swing state where the result were close challenging the outcome in hopes of overturning the election. If that does not work, second step will be efforts to not certify the elections on January 6. If that does not work, expects riots in DC and every major city on adjuration day. Be prepared.”
None of the previous comments were in response to my comments. When I make a point, I can count on a couple of trolls (not everyone) to remind me who some of them are:
Enigmainblack, aka Little Willy Spivey, our sometimes present intersectional black racist and Uncle Tom, has popped up to offer us the Marxist black racist version of Critical Black Racist Marxist Theory of America.
Little Willy speaking his truth generally runs along the lines of: never mind the truth, I’m here to hate Trump and conservatives, either black or white.
Little Willy has never seen a step up he’s ever taken in his hate filled ugly life.
You’ll never see Little Willy ever say a bad word as a step up to the truth about his fellow racist and Marxist, Bolshevik Barack Obama.
The majority of the people visiting Turley’s site are attorneys and professionals, and many of them are associated with the law in some manner. I’d hate to think of what the less educated folks making up much of the Trump base are saying. Some people I run across talk of “Civil War” and their “Second Amendment solutions.”
I heard a television pundit suggesting that should Kamala Harris defeat Donald Trump in the 2024 election, as Democrats party in the streets in major cities, Trump supporters will silently suffer, doing and saying little. He said when January 6, 2025 arrives and, it’s time for Congress to certify the Electoral College votes, the day will come and go with little notice, as it always has prior to 2021. The leaders of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers have been jailed for what they did last time. Surely, MAGA will go quietly into the good night. But that isn’t the actual quote:
“Do not go gentle into that good night," wrote Dylan Thomas; old age should burn and rage at the close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”
Donald Trump will not go quietly. He will urge his supporters to rage alongside him. He’ll tell them to take to the streets to protest what he views as a second stolen election—the only possible way he could lose. After the thousand-plus arrests after the last time, many of his followers will have the good sense to stay home. But those viewing themselves as true patriots will seek recourse in the streets. I’d love for MAGA to prove me wrong, but I’m not hopeful.
This post originally appeared on Medium and is edited and republished with author's permission. Read more of William Spivey's work on Medium. And if you dig his words, buy the man a coffee.