This is the fifth in a series aimed at educating the public about the serious psychological instability of Donald Trump. Many now are rightly concerned about the potential for blood in the streets that will be triggered by a DT defeat. Despite the shadow of doubt cast by F.B.I. Director James Comey's vague disclosure of potentially damaging new emails involving Hillary Clinton, the likelihood remains that DT's political life will soon end in shameful failure.
Like the suicide bomber who wants to take as many down with him as possible, DT is bent on scorching the American political landscape and fomenting mistrust in the electoral process that is the very foundation of democracy. With his propagandist talent for deluding himself and his red meat followers by repeating lies so often they ultimately are taken as actual facts, he is inciting his base to believe that he can only lose if the election has been rigged, not just by the Democratic and Republican establishments, but now by a global conspiracy of elite bankers seeking to elect Hillary Clinton and keep the people's choice from gaining the presidency. With a Clinton victory, the Comey letter will severely exacerbate the demented lie that the election is fixed.
DT has vividly demonstrated since August that he is more than capable of changing for the worse while having zero capacity to moderate his hateful invective. He may as well have tried to grow his fingers longer. In the scant few days before the election, DT is turning up the heat by inciting his "Second Amendment people" to violence against the government -- Republicans and Democrats alike -- as well as the lying media whose members now require serious security protection.
From a clinical perspective, Trump is driven by two complementary motivations which at root are both shame-based: the unquenchable craving for adulation on the one side, and the fiendish obsession for vengeance on the other. Countless illustrations of his twin demons are evident, not only on a daily basis, but throughout his lifelong, very public personal history.
As DT ramps up his vengeful pyrotechnics to his rabid base, what violence might we expect on election day and beyond? DT has made it crystal clear on numerous occasions that he expects his supporters, after voting themselves, to infiltrate other polling places in "certain communities" -- strongly implied, those of urban minorities -- to "watch for fraudulence. And when I say watch, you know what I'm talking about, right? You know what I'm talking about!" Because of his transparent instructions to intimidate, especially minority voters, there is a strong likelihood that ugly, violent incidents will indeed occur. Those who do not take this threat seriously would do well to view this horrifying NYT compilation of video clips capturing the barbaric tendencies of supporters at his rallies. Nevertheless, especially with an overwhelming victory for Hillary, it seems unlikely that such incidents at the polls will be widespread or lasting. Similarly, the potential for violent protests in the streets in the days following the election -- even with an overwhelming victory for Clinton -- must be taken seriously. However, the notion that there will be another "Revolutionary War" as DT's foot-soldiers have characterized it, is preposterous.
Of far greater concern, in my view, is the threat of bombings and assassination attempts generated by DT's brazen efforts to radicalize and infuriate his base. The potential targets are high-ranking Democrats and Republicans, those who have been high profile in the campaigns, any government building, and the like. Just as ISIS has inspired massacres both here and abroad by "lone wolves" operating singly or in small groups, DT has made direct comments that Hillary and the Supreme Court justices she appoints would be "unstoppable unless maybe the Second Amendment people do something about it." At a recent red meat rally, he suggested that because she "wants to abolish the Second Amendment," perhaps her security guards should be disarmed, and "let's see what happens then," generating feverish screams for retribution.
In the USA, the ISIS inspired lone wolf candidates may number in the thousands. DT had 13.5 million voters in the primary and boasts a similar number of Twitter followers. Although we may be certain that only a miniscule percentage of his supporters are actually a threat to become Trump terrorists, nevertheless, that number is far higher than the ISIS pool. In his campaign, vile hate groups have been welcomed into the fold, running the full gamut from white supremacists and the cowardly KKK on one extreme to the black supremacist cult, Yahweh Ben Yahweh, convicted of fourteen murders in the '80s. Their members are prominently displayed at DT's rallies, because DT likes their signs: "Blacks for Trump, gods2.com." Hillary was careless and insensitive in referring to half of DT's base as hateful "deplorables." But it is undeniable that there is powerful component of hatred in his diverse following.
As the shocking video clips demonstrate, DT's rallies are replete with screams for "kill the bitch!" and the like. By hanging out on alt-right websites advocating sinister conspiracies -- a space DT intends to dominate as his Plan B -- alienated supporters will continue to hear the thinly veiled encouragement to pick up a gun and do something with it. This danger will persist years beyond November 8th.
The threat is very real. The lone wolves are listening.
Chicago, IL
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