(NOTE: What follows is speculation. I deeply hope it does not come true.)
Next year the U.S. is planning to celebrate its 250th anniversary as a nation. There will be plenty of pomp and a lot of circumstance.
Unfortunately, one of those circumstances is the grim realization that we may have entered the most hazardous period in our country’s history since the Civil War.
Given the present political environment, what worries me is that it is not far-fetched to anticipate that attacks may be carried out against one or more of President Trump’s political rivals. Assassinations are certainly not out of the question.
Should something like that happen to a prominent Trump critic, it will be difficult to hold Trump accountable, because the Supreme Court has ruled that he would be immune from prosecution.
But consider the following scenario. We know that when he wants them to act, Trump speaks to his most extreme followers in code. He uses phrases that they can interpret as orders to carry out his wishes against his enemies.
This is all about the interplay between the mind of a cult leader or an autocrat and the mindset of his followers.
Trump is an extremely paranoid and defensive man. Even the most gentle of criticisms can send him into a rage. Exhibit A: the controversy surrounding the prayer service at the National Cathedral attended by Trump and his family earlier this week.
Here was the message delivered by the Bishop, Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde:
“Let me make one final plea, Mr. President. Millions have put their trust in you, and as you told the nation yesterday, you have felt the providential hand of a loving God. In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now. There are gay, lesbian, and transgender children in Democratic, Republican, and independent families — some who fear for their lives.
“I ask you to have mercy, Mr. President, on those in our communities whose children fear their parents will be taken away, and that you help those who are fleeing war zones and persecution in their own lands to find compassion and welcome here.”
Afterward, an angry Trump posted “The so-called Bishop who spoke at the National Prayer Service on Tuesday morning was a Radical Left hard line Trump hater,” (emphasis added) and he demanded an apology from her.
Rev. Budde responded: “I don't hate President Trump. I strive not to hate anyone and I dare say that I am not of the 'radical left' either, whatever that means. That is not who I am.” But she confided that she is getting death threats now Trump has (in code) put a target on her back.
In this context, remember what happened to Paul Pelosi.
While trying to rationally evaluate the nature of the current danger faced by those who have been vocal in opposing Trump, I recalled the words of a would-be “enforcer” in quite a different context but who reminds me of a Trump extremist.
Bear with me.
Many of you have read my ten-part series on the killing of Betty Van Patter. In that case, the so-called “security squad” of Black Panthers who carried out violent acts on behalf of their leader, Huey P. Newton. They included Flores Forbes, who later wrote a revealing memoir in which he took personal responsibility for a botched assassination attempt against a woman scheduled to testify against Newton. He said that he did it without Newton’s involvement or knowledge.
In that 2006 memoir, “Will You Die With Me?” Forbes wrote: “I was not bothered by the fact I was on my way to assassinating someone…In the final analysis, what I really believed was that Huey P. Newton was my ‘prince.’ I would kill or die for him at the drop of a hat.”
I bring this up not to suggest any equivalency between the Black Panthers and Trump, but to highlight of the mindset that motivated Forbes to try and serve the wishes of his leader, whom at the time he revered.
I believe this same mindset is common among Trump’s followers, including extremists like those who violently attacked Capitol Police officers during the Jan. 6 assault. It’s a reasonable assumption that at least a few of them would commit violent acts again on behalf of their revered leader.
All of those felons are now free, their criminal records swept away by Trump’s executive order. Almost all of them have guns and they know how to use them. And at least a few probably share the mindset so chillingly described by Flores Forbes.
Is it illogical for us to connect the dots?
(END NOTE: As I said above, this is speculation on my part, although it is speculation informed by an attention to detail and patterns in the news. We need to help in any way we can to support what remains of a free, independent press and the courts to hold Trump accountable should this scenario come true.)
HEADLINES:
Far-Right Leaders Granted Clemency by Trump Express Desire for Retribution (NYT)
Washington National Cathedral Bishop Calls Out Trump to His Face (Rolling Stone)
‘I Am Not Going to Apologize’: The Bishop Who Confronted Trump Speaks Out (Time)
Trump pardons anti-abortion activists who blockaded clinic entrances (AP)
How Trump Is Pushing at Limits of Presidential Power in Early Orders (NYT)
Judge temporarily blocks Trump's executive order on birthright citizenship, calling it 'blatantly unconstitutional' (ABC)
How the modern Supreme Court might view the 14th Amendment and birthright citizenship (CNN)
House passes immigrant detention bill that would be Trump’s first law to sign (AP)
One executive order from Trump’s first day makes radical changes to border policy, attempting to erase a right established in U.S. and international law. [HuffPost]
Trump accelerates campaign to remake federal bureaucracy (Reuters)
US government workers told to report DEI efforts or face 'consequences' (BBC)
Senate advances Pete Hegseth as Trump’s defense secretary, despite allegations against him (AP)
ADL condemns Musk's Nazi "jokes" after salute controversy (Axios)
Trump Davos remarks target big banks, oil prices, European regulators (CNBC)
Hughes Fire rages near LA; 50K under evacuation orders, warnings (USA Today)
This economist survived a wildfire. Now she's taking on California's insurance crisis (NPR)
Subpoenaing Cassidy Hutchinson could massively blow up in Republicans' faces: report (Newsbreak)
Trump’s Definitions of “Male” and “Female” Are Nonsense Science With Staggering Ramifications (Mother Jones)
Justice Department freezes all civil rights cases, including police investigations (WP)
America’s Fraught, Sometimes Deadly, History With the Panama Canal (WSJ)
Gaza ceasefire holds as Israel cracks down in the West Bank (AP)
Russia's economy grew over the past two years, but things are changing. That has contributed to the view within a section of the elite that a settlement to the war is desirable, sources say. (Reuters)
CNN Shuffles Lineup With New Spots For Jake Tapper, Wolf Blitzer & Kasie Hunt; Jim Acosta’s Show Bumped From Mornings (Deadline)
CNN laying off about 200 employees as part of shift to digital model (WP)
The Federal Communications Commission revived three complaints against NBC, ABC and CBS, after a conservative group alleged multiple instances of bias against Trump during the election season. [HuffPost]
‘Emilia Pérez’ tops Oscar nominations with 13, ‘Wicked’ and ‘The Brutalist’ land 10 apiece (AP)
ADHD linked to shorter life expectancy: Research (The Hill)
Meta courted Trump. Now comes the backlash from Facebook, Instagram users. (WP)
Signature moves: are we losing the ability to write by hand? (Guardian)
OpenAI's new Operator will do web tasks for you (Axios)
Scientists Successfully Teach Mice To Hate Women (The Onion)
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Special Report: Who Killed Betty Van Patter?
(Photo courtesy of the Baltar family)
Betty Van Patter, the Black Panthers’ bookkeeper, was murdered 50 years ago. Who killed her? Investigative reporter David Weir and others have spent decades searching for answers. (Berkeleyside) (Richmondside) (The Oaklandside)
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