(Author’s note: I made a commitment a few weeks ago to not write about Donald Trump…which I fully intended to stand by. The passage of time has made it clear that for someone with an interest in national politics, this is an impossible pledge to keep. Though I loathe everything Trump stands for, the fact remains that he and his followers ARE the story these days. It’s impossible to write about the 2016 Presidential campaign without mentioning Trump. That said, as much as I abhor the coarseness Trump has brought to the process, I simply can’t ignore his impact…which, to be honest, I wasn’t doing very well, anyway. I eagerly await the day when I can return to assiduously ignoring him.)
CHICAGO — A Donald Trump rally that attracted thousands to the University of Illinois at Chicago was abruptly canceled Friday night amid his campaign’s security fears, sparking shouting and scuffling between the candidate’s fans and anti-Trump protesters. Chicago police said two officers were hurt, including one who was struck on the head with a bottle. At least two other people were taken to a hospital with minor injuries, according to news reports. Five people were arrested. The rally was called off about a half-hour after the scheduled 6 p.m. start time, after thousands of Trump fans and anti-Trump protesters packed into the free event, which required online registration. Thousands more gathered outside, surrounded by a police perimeter, and people became more vocal as the starting time approached. Chaos broke out when the cancelation was announced, according to media reports from inside the pavilion.
To say I was somewhat alarmed by what happened in Chicago on Friday would be something of an understatement. Yes, I’m concerned about the risks of violence or worse, and that should be first and foremost among our concerns going forward. I’m surprised at the turn of events only insofar as I find myself wondering why it took so long for something like this to happen.
Donald Trump is a monster created by Republicans…and now they no longer have the ability to control that monster. The GOP has for years assiduously honed its appeal to the lowest common denominator, speaking ever more directly to low information voters who fear a world in which tolerance, acceptance, and compromise are the norm. The Republican message has been refined to appeal to those who wish more than anything to create a world more to their liking, and to crush anyone who stands in their way. The Republican Party has quite deliberately transformed itself into the party of hatred, obstruction, and intolerance. Nice work….
Despite the best efforts of Marco Rubio and others on the Far Right to profit from the chaos, there’s simply no credible way to blame The Black Guy in the White House © or “the Left” for the now-common violence at Trump’s rallies. You broke it, you bought it.
America inspired by @realDonaldTrump looks decidedly less unified at this Chicago rally. pic.twitter.com/sIUaEcnj7f
— M. Scott Mahaskey (@smahaskey) March 12, 2016
The near-riot in Chicago can reasonably held to be a case of Republicans sowing the wind and nearly being forced to reap the whirlwind. After years of appealing to all manner of extremists in the interests of seizing power, the GOP now finds itself facing the reality that their standard bearer in the general election will be a candidate who inspires violence among his followers. Violence is now a recurring theme at Donald Trump’s rallies. In fact, Trump condones and even encourages this violence, even as he denies responsibility for it. It gets attention, never a bad thing in his estimation, and he claims it livens things up. He claims to have no regret over verbal and physical assaults on protesters at his events, stating that in the old days, those daring to protest would have been “carried out on stretchers.”
When your brand is predicated on demagogic rage…well, stay classy, eh? It seems the inmates are running the asylum.
The rally quickly devolved into chaos after the cancellation was announced.
“Tonight’s rally will be postponed,” a Trump campaign staffer announced, as a sea of protesters celebrated and tore apart Trump signs inside the university pavilion.
Chicago police said in a statement they played no part in the decision and were working with university police and the Secret Service “to protect people’s First Amendment rights and ensure everyone is able to disperse the area safely.”….
Disappointed Trump supporters could be heard on video feeds criticizing “liberals” and Black Lives Matter supporters for the cancellation.
The reaction of many of Trump’s supporters was no accident- it’s indicative of his simplistic, emotional appeal to angry low information White Voters. It’s not- as Trump claims- because of “thugs.” What happened in Chicago- or, even worse, what might have happened had things escalated- is not unique to Chicago. With violence directed at protesters now a common them at Trump’s rallies, it’s not a stretch to hold the candidate responsible for the air of menace and malevolence that follows him wherever he goes. The truth is that Trump eagerly encourages the unrest, even offering to pay the legal fees of his supporters arrested for assaulting protesters.
In the eyes of many observers, Trump is the reincarnation of Benito Mussolini, a modern-day fascist willing to employ whatever means necessary- including violence to seize power. Not to put too fine a point on it, but the comparison is not unwarranted. I’d submit that comparison is incomplete without throwing in another Italian demagogue, Silvio Berlusconi.
Trump is aiding and abetting violence and unrest created by America’s deep political divide in his quest for power. This violence is as unsurprising as it is predictable. Given the candidate’s harsh, divisive rhetoric, and his embrace of White supremacists, he’s exploiting an environment singularly ill-suited to compromise and rational discussion. People tend not to think at Trump rallies- they’re prone to reacting. When the candidate implicitly endorses attacking protesters, it speaks to an atmosphere of ill will and intolerance unlike anything I’ve known in my lifetime.
What happens when someone is killed at one of Trump’s rallies? That’s not a hypothetical question; given the air of malevolence and anger that appears to be the baseline among his supporters, it’s not a matter of “if,” but “when.” Are we headed towards a time when the Republican nominee for President is willing to trade the lives of those he and his supporters consider “less than” for the honor and privilege of becoming President?
This is not a general trend among Presidential campaigns. Other candidates held peaceful rallies in the Chicago area Friday. The tolerance and implicit encouragement of violence intended to stifle dissent has become characteristic of Trump’s rallies. Whether or not you’re on board with the comparison to Nazi rallies prior to Hitler seizing power, the end result may well be the same. That the analogy can credibly be made should be distressing enough, especially since Trump will very likely be the GOP standard bearer in the general election.
Congratulations, Republicans; you have only yourselves to blame for this toxic environment. This era of incivility and malevolence didn’t spontaneously appear out of thin air; it was created by years of assiduously honing your appeals to the lowest common denominator. Now the party cognoscenti reduced to fretting about what to do about a front-runner who says his supporters will sabotage the election and destroy the GOP if he’s not the nominee.
If this kind of violence is happening in March, what can we expect after Labor Day? How long before someone dies at the hands of angry, hateful Trump supporters? Something tells me we won’t have to wait long, nor will we have to look far in order to determine who’s responsible.
