Donald Trump let the audience know he wants consequences for protesters, during his stump speech at a St. Louis rally on Friday.
According to Politico there were several interruptions throughout the rally. Trump complained that there had been consequences for protesting in the past, and stated that perhaps the country should return to those days. Not a man to sugar coat his words, he said “this is what we need a little bit more of” in direct reference to his supporters hitting back at protesters at his events earlier in the day.
It’s an incredulous attitude coming for someone running for the Presidency, and it’s mind boggling how he can still be in the race, leading the polls of the Republican party no less. Let’s have a look at some of his worst comments:
“Part of the problem and part of the reason it takes so long [to kick them out] is nobody wants to hurt each other anymore”
“These people are so bad for our country, folks. You have no idea […] They contribute nothing. Nothing. And look at the police, they take their lives in their hands.”
“These people in the media, the most dishonest human beings on Earth. They are the worst. They are the worst. So what they’ll do is they’ll take 10 minutes worth of clips of that and if one policeman accidentally moves a finger and touches this wise guy, it’s like, ‘Oh, it’s the worst thing I’ve ever seen.’ And yet the police are being abused for 10 minutes, OK? […] Give me a break. Give me a break. We better toughen up, we better smarten up, and we better stop with this political correctness because it’s driving us down the tubes.”
In light of the recent cases of police brutality, the “accidental touching” Trump refers to is beyond disrespectful to victims. But this is where the problem lays. There have been several articles about Trump’s unhealthy anger triggering violence at rallies, and the latest is from Vox, which describes violence as the core of Trump’s ideology:
“Trump does have an ideology. He does have an agenda. The core of Trumpism is ‘a revived and unapologetic American nationalism, which will stand for American interests abroad while defending the traditional conception of the American nation at home.'”
Donald Trump is offering an explanation and a solution; an argument and an ideology. It is a dangerous solution, but it is not unclear. The way to emphasize the importance of nationalism, and why we need Trump as a leader, is by exciting the crowds with the imagined threat, and strength, of violence. Vox continues:
“They are told that America is no longer great. They are told who to blame. They are told that the reason these losers are dragging America down is we have become too politically correct, too scared, too weak, to stop them. They are told Trump will pay their legal fees if they want to do what’s necessary. ’There used to be consequences,’ Trump sighs. The crowd knows what he’s asking. Make Consequences Real Again.”
Hours after Trump’s speech in St. Louis, 32 people were arrested and several were injured as Trump’s supporters clashed with anti-Trump protesters and police. Vox’s article ends with a plea:
“If Trump wins and this country goes down a dark path, we will never be able to say we didn’t see it coming. We will never be able to say we weren’t warned.”
Featured image by Gage Skidmore of Donald Trump speaking with supporters at a campaign rally at the South Point Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Permission to use under Creative Commons license.
