Trump threatens to jail adversaries in escalating rhetoric ahead of pivotal debate
With just days to go before his first — and likely only — debate against Vice President Kamala Harris, former President Donald Trump posted a warning on his social media site threatening to jail those “involved in unscrupulous behavior” this election, which he said would be under intense scrutiny.
“WHEN I WIN, those people that CHEATED will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law, which will include long term prison sentences so that this Depravity of Justice does not happen again,” Trump wrote, again sowing doubt about the integrity of the election, even though cheating is incredibly rare.
“Please beware,” he went on, “that this legal exposure extends to Lawyers, Political Operatives, Donors, Illegal Voters, & Corrupt Election Officials. Those involved in unscrupulous behavior will be sought out, caught, and prosecuted at levels, unfortunately, never seen before in our Country.”
https://apnews.com/article/trump-harris-wisconsin-election-economy-a6923d6c5758dabb6d959417ea9d7d12Open linkView original on lemmy.ca
Straight out of the fascist playbook. Claiming the election is stolen before voting has even taken place.
Yet the GOP is the one with a fake elector scheme.
Also from Nazi playbook - accuse your opponents for exactly what you are doing
He's been doing that since 2015
When did Presidential power start to include the power to jail whoever you want? Why does anyone even imagine that might be an ok situation?
I lost any general respect for nearly half of my fellow citizens in 2016, it hasnt improved a lot since.
Just watched Vice again last night. Supposed to be a bit funny but it is chilling. The seeds for this degree of power started around Nixon / Regan but only now are we about to see the kind of power Cheney worked for. Now even he fears this power.
I lost respect for them when George W sent 4k American youths to their death for oil. Destroyed the Middle East. And killed countless middle easterners. His VP made hundreds of millions a of dollars while in office assisting in this destruction.
And they reelected him cause the other guy might have changed his opinion about things.
Absolutely unadulterated bullshit. You either have no clue what you're talking about or you are a foreign operative here intentionally trying to undermine democracy. GTFO!
Let me ask you a question, what's keeping you from running and winning the presidency?
I mean, outside of political experience.
I'll answer for you: you don't have the backing of billionaires to fund your campaign.
You don't get to be a viable candidate for president in the US if you don't promise to kowtow to the oligarchy. Everything else is window dressing.
Yes, some are worse than others. But the bottom line is that all of them prioritize the interests of the oligarchs over the interests of the people.
Doesn't fucking matter. It's not a perfect system, but it's the system we have, so I WILL participate in it, and I will fight to improve it. People like you working to demoralize people out of participating in and improving the system are the enemy... foreign or domestic.
I didn't tell you not to participate. It's pointless at the federal level, but you knock yourself out, chief.
When nothing changes and we're back here again in four years this will be in your head and maybe you'll think about doing something different. My job is done.
I'm not your enemy. The oligarchs want us divided and you're playing into their hands.
I'm playing into their hands?!?! What the fuck am I doing that plays into their hands? What should I do that's different? You're not offering any solutions. You're the one here just giving the hopeless vibes. If anyone is playing into anybody's hands to undermine democracy, you'll find them in the mirror. До свидания.
Yes. The elites want to keep us on the edge of sustainability and at each other's throats in order to keep us from seeing what's right in front of our eyes. They build their empires on our backs. They exploit us and take the fruits of our labor and sell them back to us at unaffordable prices. You resorting to thought terminating cliches, insinuating I'm a Russian bot or troll is playing right into that.
I'm not your enemy. I'm a person who has a different perspective than you. I think you're a potential ally in the coming struggle, and I don't hate you for not sharing my ideology.
"What should I do that's different?"
First, arm yourself and train. Second, educate yourself. Third organize.
This system is collapsing, and that collapse is accelerating. It would be in your interest to prepare for that.
You should read political and economic philosophy. If you can't articulate why someone would be attracted to Trump without resorting to insults you could probably use a little exposure to things outside your comfort zone. I'd recommend reading "A people's history of the United States" by Howard Zinn to see how the elites in this country have employed propaganda and force to suppress movements that dare to threaten the ruling class (and the atrocities we commit overseas in order to prop up our empire.) After that, the classics of the left have some pretty good ideas for how to organize a society.
Organize. Join or form a union. Participate in mutual aid networks. Learn what prefiguration is and try your best to help prepare for what comes after. Build networks both on and offline and share ideas, challenge each other.
Question your own beliefs and ideology. Try to look at them with fresh eyes. Follow them to their logical conclusions.
"If anyone is playing into anybody's hands to undermine democracy"
Friend, democracy was undermined in this country before it ever had a chance to get off the ground. It was founded to pursue the interests of white land and slave owning rich men and hasn't changed much in the intervening time.
The "good" thing is that capitalism is unsustainable and will collapse under its own weight - we just have to hope it does so before it kills us all and that we still have a chance to salvage the planet.
Shallow understanding, a lack of reasoning, and false dichotomy won't get you far as a programmer. You'll stagnate in the exploitation stage.
I have seen so many bad programmers in so many companies it's not even funny.
I stopped working with them. I'm much happier for it.
I've long known that when this country slips into fascism, my name will be on a list. I won't be on the first list or the second list. But I'll be on one of them. And eventually, they'll come for me.
Orange bad is the one that wants to make it a reality right now.
If you don't have dependants then I encourage you to get your name on that first list. We'll die together, without regret, our dignity intact.
I ain't going out without a fight. I guaran-fucking-tee you that.
Remember that the opponent never communicates in good faith. There's only two languages they understand: money and physical violence.
Fuck that. If the orange bad 2.0 happens I'm getting the fuck out. I started thinking about it during the pan, when it became evident how much I hate a third of our population. Then we got a reprieve and I decided to hang because I genuinely love where I live (Bay Area). But I'm ready to take off in the first couple months of 2025 if I need to. I'm not doing that shit again.
But I agree. Antagonize them endlessly.
My goal is not to antagonize. We do not agree.
The people are of much higher quality on the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada.
Be prepared, but not in fear. Also, Kamala Harris will win but the weird orange felon will certainly try to call in his goon squad and the Extreme Court.
He's going to start calling for their deaths any time now.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/09/trump-milley-execution-incitement-violence/675435/
What people don’t quite grasp is that he means exactly what he says.
He considers, for example, being a lawyer to be “unscrupulous behavior”. As is donating to anyone but himself. Or voting for anyone but him.
More nazi shit. Cool, cool.
Oh dear. Is the sad, confused, and weird old man rambling again?
doesn't even know where he is
I am the Law
Trump Dredd
Going to Prison if you Insult the President is called FREEDOM and EXACTLY what the Founders Intended!
#1 Maduro fan in the US
Who taught him the phrase "legal exposure"?
One of the lawyers he didn't pay
Mein Drumpf
The debate (Tuesday night?) is going to be a REAL shitshow. Hope the moderators/network don't protect him too much but expecting at least one n-word and a few unprompted threats of retribution to both democrats and republicans.
The people who live blog fact checking will likely need an open bar right next to them to get though it.
What do you mean? You can’t prosecute if they are official acts
Never thought we’d need a constitutional amendment that spells out the president and all elected and non elected government workers are subject to all the laws of the United States in the exact same way civilians are. But here we are.
How do we get this passed, folks?
As a constitutional amendment? Not going to happen. See: Texas
This will probably only extend to the democratic voters who allegedly cheated. The republican cheaters are just part of the process
Well, the Republicans are only cheating because "the other side is cheating so they have to even the playing field". Despite no actual evidence of any wide spread voter fraud.
I love that in the search for proof of cheating, they have found more republicans cheating than democrats
https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2024-04-25/these-people-were-charged-with-interfering-in-the-2020-election-some-are-still-in-politics-today
That's what a good authoritarian leader does. Persecuting the opposition, of course.
Does voting against him count as cheating?
Well Florida is now sending police to check up on ballot signatories. So there is a record of people filling out the ballot, who knows if they register what you voted. But I'd say yes.
I know anonymous elections are incredibly important, but I'd happily voice my votes in this case to shut down this bullshit.
Petition signatories, but I'm sure they'll be happy to expand that to ballots.
How democratic of you, Donnie.
He is afraid.
Dementia causes verbal aggression.
He wasn't that bright even before the dementia.
It's a veiled threat to election workers and everyone involved in the election
So related topic, what's a good anti-Trump group to give money to? Of course there's the Kamala campaign and Republican Voters Against Trump, but I feel like both of these are repeating attacks that are already out there and common in the media. Corruption is a bipartisan issue, and despite epic levels of corruption in his administration somehow many voters seem to view Trump as some sort of incorruptible guy.
If there was a group that would point out his alleged selling of pardons (which is quite apparent given who he has pardoned), hiring of lobbyists to run just about everything, politicizing the justice department (e.g. killing an investigation into an alleged bribe he got from egypt), and use of taxpayer-funded resources to reward allies and donors, they'd get an admittedly small chunk of money from me. Any group doing that?
Consider donating to your local high-school's sharpshooting team. If there had been more spots open on one of these high-school clubs honing the skills, accuracy, and range of our nation's young people, this election would have been very different starting about 6 weeks ago.
It's like when he threatened Hillary Clinton to send her to jail