Trump cultists are turning their long knives on each other, blaming everyone else for failing their Dear Master, as the final days of the Trump Regime wane.
Thousands of maskless rallygoers who refuse to accept the results of the election turned downtown Washington into a falsehood-filled spectacle Saturday, two days before the electoral college will make the president’s loss official.
In smaller numbers than their gathering last month, they roamed from the Capitol to the Mall and back again, seeking inspiration from speakers who railed against the Supreme Court, Fox News and President-elect Joe Biden. The crowds cheered for recently pardoned former national security adviser Michael Flynn, marched with conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and stood in awe of a flyover from what appeared to be Marine One.
“There he is! There is our guy!” a woman exclaimed, reaching toward the sky.
After railing on Twitter about the failure of his most recent attempt to overturn the election results, President Trump praised the crowd that gathered in his honor, tweeting “Wow! Thousands of people forming in Washington (D.C.) for Stop the Steal. Didn’t know about this, but I’ll be seeing them! #MAGA,” he wrote.
Later in the day, attention was focused not on the president but on a group he once told to “stand back and stand by”: the Proud Boys, a male-chauvinist organization with ties to white nationalism. In helmets and bulletproof vests, hundreds of men in their ranks marched through downtown in militarylike rows, shouting “move out” and “1776!”
They seemed intent on intimidating onlookers and adopted a chant popular with counterprotesters: “Whose streets? Our streets.”
After the sun went down, the evening became violent. At least two people were stabbed as Proud Boys and pro-Trump demonstrators clashed near 11th and F streets NW.
Doug Buchanan, a D.C. fire department spokesman, said the victims were taken to a hospital, but details about their conditions weren’t available.
The attacks were an escalation after an evening of faceoffs that took place near Black Lives Matter Plaza, Franklin Square, Harry’s Bar — a hangout popular with Trump supporters — and other spots around downtown.
At first, officers in riot gear successfully kept the two sides apart, even as the groups splintered and roamed.
The Proud Boys became increasingly angry as they wove through streets and alleys, only to find police continuously blocking their course with lines of bikes.
“Both sides of the aisle hate you now. Congratulations,” a Proud Boy shouted at the officers.
But before long, the agitators determined to find each other were successful — and posturing quickly turned into punching, kicking and wrestling.
Again and again, officers swarmed, pulling the instigators apart, firing chemical irritants and forming lines between the sides. At Harry’s Bar, an ambulance arrived, but the extent of injuries was unknown.
Each time a fight was de-escalated, another soon began in a different part of town.
D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham made a brief appearance in the chaos, telling protesters: “We’re doing the best we can.”
After Monday's electoral vote makes it official, I expect the Trump cultists to do something appropriately stupid and possibly lethal in order to try to provoke some sort of action from Trump himself. Trump meanwhile is too busy going to college football games to care.
Speaking at a pro-Trump demonstration from the steps of the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., Flynn — who briefly served as Trump's national security adviser in 2017 before pleading guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russia's ambassador — echoed other Trump allies who have been pushing unfounded allegations that the president lost the November's election to President-elect Joe Biden because of widespread voter fraud. Like the others, including the president himself, Flynn didn't produce any actual evidence of fraud, but said "in this crucible moment of our time, we have to pray that truth triumphs over lies, justice triumphs over abuse and fraud, honesty triumphs over corruption. Our sacred honor triumphs over infamy."
He added that there are "avenues" to keep challenging the results and that "courts aren't going to decide who the next president of the United States is going to be. We the people decide." He did not, however, elaborate on how that would work now that polls have been closed for more than a month.
If there is actual lethal violence, everyone seems to be waiting on Trump to give them permission, but I still think there will be lone cases of real tragedy in the weeks ahead, not that it should distract or detract from the 3,000 dead we're seeing from COVID right now. The polls make it clear that Trump's voters now want a coup.
With the Electoral College poised to elect Joe Biden on Monday, a sizable 62% majority of the nation's voters feel the election is "over and settled" and it's "time to move on." Large majorities feel their own votes were counted correctly, and a majority acknowledge Mr. Biden as the "legitimate winner."
But the president's backers feel very differently: 82% of Trump voters say they do not consider Mr. Biden legitimate and — perhaps most notably for the coming transition month — almost half of President Trump's voters say Mr. Trump should refuse to concede after that Electoral College vote happens, and instead do all he can to stay in power.
As a rationale, the Trump voters who do not see Mr. Biden as legitimate widely accept Mr. Trump's premise for overturning the election results, and — even as states have certified results and courts have ruled against challenges — echo the president's assertions of fraud.
And before the Electoral College votes head to Congress to be read, we find similar sentiments and splits regarding what the president's party should do now: two thirds of voters say congressional Republicans should acknowledge Mr. Biden and move on to other legislative matters, but most Trump voters instead say congressional Republicans should do all they can to help Mr. Trump stay in power.
In fact, 49% of Trump voters want him to refuse to concede after the Electoral College votes on Monday, and 75% say Republicans in Congress should do everything they can to help him stay in power. Almost all of them, 93%, say "millions of ballots were cast illegally."
They want a coup, period.
My fear is at some point very soon Trump is going to float that option.
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