Two people have been violent on Trump’s behalf since the Mar-a-Lago search. Both are dead — killed by law enforcement officials before they could do any damage.
One attacked an FBI office in Ohio, brandishing a nail gun. The other was killed when he refused to cooperate with law enforcement officials who approached him in his home after he made multiple threats against President Biden.
Granted, there have been hundreds of other accounts of people being threatened by Trump supporters. However, there has been almost no outright violence since the insurrection. Perhaps that’s because over a thousand people have been arrested, and the ringleaders of that riot (except Trump, for now) have been held accountable and will spend the next decade (or more) behind bars.
This week, we learned from Mitt Romney that the Republicans who voted to acquit Trump during his Jan. 6 impeachment did so not because they believed him innocent but because they feared him. Republicans in Congress knew Trump was guilty — but they refused to convict him based on concerns for the safety of their families and themselves.
The problem with showing fear is that it encourages the attacker. The Republican Party’s cowardice gave Trump permission to continue threatening them.
The only power Trump has is the power we give him
All of this points to the obvious: Trump has no real power. Everything he has comes from the willingness of others to believe his lies or to fear his followers. Yet even after four indictments, only two people have acted on the fantasy of saving Trump through violence.
And yet, the media continues to bombard us with fear-mongering about what might happen if Trump gets convicted and how dangerous it is for anybody attempting to hold Trump accountable.
It’s time to change the messaging
I am sick of hearing pundits repeatedly shove threats of violence down our throats. What they should be talking about is how the DOJ has ramped up its security by creating an entire division to handle the ongoing threats they are receiving, how law enforcement agencies across the country are primed and ready to defend our citizens, and how the DOJ will not back down or allow fear to prevent them from doing the right thing.
It doesn’t matter what it costs. Worrying about the price of a security detail for someone threatened by Trump supporters is like deciding not to buy a baby seat for your kid because you think they’re too expensive. Nothing should interfere with our ability to protect the safety of witnesses, law enforcement officials, local elected officials, and prosecutors.
The message the media and the DOJ need to send is simple: Trump isn’t running the show now. Anyone who tries to mess with the U.S. government by terrorizing citizens, witnesses, prosecutors, or elected officials will end up in jail or dead. That’s the message we need to spread — not repeated “woe is me” arguments about how violent Trump’s supporters are. Let’s face it: most of them are cowards.
Their bark is worse than their bite
You may recall that on Jan. 6, some of Trump’s most militant followers bragged about having stashed weapons in Virginia to use during the insurrection — but they didn’t use them. The guns stayed in Virginia — even though thousands were amassed together, with Trump egging them on. They still trashed the Capitol, and several people died due to this heinous act, but imagine how much worse it would have been if the threats they made had been realized.
Jan. 6 was a coordinated attack led by Trump. Yet, even with the element of surprise working in their favor, the leader of our country cheering them on, and an overwhelming number of rioters compared to the relatively meager numbers of police available to control them, the worst did not happen.
Mike Pence was not hanged, Nancy Pelosi was not dragged through the halls of Congress by her hair, and the election results were not thrown out and replaced by votes from fake electors.
Today, we are no longer at the mercy of Trump and his minions. We see them coming. Anywhere online platforms are used to encourage and coordinate violent actions, the FBI is also present.
The tough talk needs to come from law enforcement now
We must stop acting like Trump has power. He doesn’t. He still has lackeys, but they have shown themselves to be misguided and weak. Groups will gather to frighten and intimidate others, but most of the time, their faces are at least partially covered. This is not how brave people behave — it’s the playbook of cowards.
After years of Trump’s lies, we have to start doing what we should have done in the first place. We must focus on facts, not rhetoric. And the facts tell us that Trump is on the decline. Forget the polls — they haven’t been right since 2016.
Trump has been indicted four times. He will not become president again. Republicans have lost their ability to legislate, and McCarthy is dangerously close to losing his speakership. They have nothing. They should not be feared — they should be pitied.
When history tells the tale of Donald J. Trump, it will be a tale of cowardice in the Republican Party that led to the election of a man wholly unsuited to the office of president. It will be the story of political and governmental failure on the most colossal scale imaginable.
Trump is going down and taking the entire Republican Party with him. At this point, it’s just a matter of time.