Former President Donald Trump speaks during an event at the Adler Theater on March 13 in Davenport, Iowa.
Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images
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Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images
Former President Donald Trump speaks during an event at the Adler Theater on March 13 in Davenport, Iowa.
Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images
When it comes to politics, that was former President Donald Trump’s world, and we all still live in it.
With an opinion ALL CAPS of its own, low traffic social media platforms – on a Saturday – Trump was able to shake the world of politics, influence the media, get law enforcement to scramble and show his support for with the Republican Party.
Vaguely citing “illegal edge,” Trump announced he “will be arrested next Tuesday.” (Today.)
He then appealed to his followers to “PROMPT, BACK OUR COUNTRY!”
Senior New York Law Enforcement Officials Sunday gathered to plan for potential rallies. Steel fence is erected outside New York criminal court on Monday.
Signs suggest that a grand jury in New York is getting very close to indicting Trump in a case involving a seven-year-old girl’s hush money to porn actress Stormy Daniels. No reputable news outlet has been able to specifically verify that Trump will be arrested on Tuesday – despite Trump’s unsubstantiated claims of alleged leaks from the district attorney’s office.
But Trump’s message had the desired effect, triggering the inside and outside game of GOP and boxing over rival candidates and potential people.
Don’t expect public opinion to change a lot even if he is arrested. It haven’t moved muchif so, after countless other scandals Trump has been involved in.
This strategy is not new to Trump. Here’s how it works: Post something provocative. Create attention and headlines. Use said headlines to raise money. Hit the table. free activation. Send rights into a protective rage.
Wash. Repeat.
That’s something he’s done before as a candidate and as president whenever something bad can happen – be it. Access Hollywood The tapes, the Mueller investigation, the two articles of impeachment, the election he lost, January 6, or a search of his home in Florida uncovered boxes of unreported classified documents.
In the 48 hours following that search, Trump’s team mobilized more than 2 million dollars. Since Saturday, there have been at least a dozen fundraising emails sent in Trump’s name about his imminent “arrest” (plus about half a dozen more trying to shape the story).
You almost wonder if Trump would do it just to see if he could still do it.
Republicans in Congress jump to Trump’s defense
It has certainly gone according to plan over the past few days. With House GOP at a retreat in Orlando, Fla.,”I-didn’t see-tweet“The crowd goes into defense mode.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy performed some familiar verbal exercises. First, he tweeted that New York DA Alvin Bragg was exhibiting “an outrageous abuse of power” and said he was “directing the relevant committees to immediately investigate if the funds federalism is being used to overthrow our democracy by interfering in elections with politically motivated prosecutions.”
We begin again – an outrageous abuse of power by a radical DA who let violent criminals run wild as he pursued political revenge against President Trump.
I am directing the relevant committees to immediately investigate if federal funds are being used to overthrow our democracy by… https://t.co/elpbh7LeWn
– Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) March 18, 2023
Later, when asked by reporters about Trump’s call for protests, McCarthy said: “I don’t think people should object to this, no.”
He then countered: “I think President Trump, if you talk to him, he doesn’t believe it either,” and said people could “misunderstand” what Trump said.
As a reminder, here’s what Trump actually said in his Saturday post (emphasis ours):
“…LEADING CANDIDATES OF THE REPUBLIC & SUPER PRESIDENT OF THE USA, WILL BE CREATED ON THIS DAY. PERFORMANCE, BACK OUR COUNTRY!“
During his speech at the Ellipse on January 6, Trump speak“You will never take back our country with weakness.”
A fundraising email Monday afternoon urged his supporters to “stand with UNITED to defend our movement peacefully.”
But you can see how some might think violence can be triggered — and why even McCarthy and Trump’s other allies trying to pump the brake.
Harnessing their newly formed majority political muscle, the trio of House committee chairmen GOP request documents, communications, and testimony related to Bragg’s investigation of Trump — and they want him to testify before Congress.
Republican presidential candidates must also comment
Not only Republicans in Congress jumped to Trump’s defense, even his former vice president, Mike Pence, defended him.
“It’s like a political prosecution,” said Pence, who was threatened with his life on January 6 and has fallen out of favor with his former boss. tell ABC.
New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, who is considering running for president and is not a Trump fan, told CNN: “I think that’s building a lot of sympathy for the former president.” He noted that some Republicans, who are not necessarily Trump supporters, “all said they felt like he was being attacked.”
But when it comes to some of the major candidates or other potential people, the Trump world has charged them with “silent radio.”
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley and South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, said little, if any.
DeSantis is the only person venturing into territory that could be seen as criticizing Trump, delivering this lie: “Look, I don’t know what happens when you pay a gag to a porn star to ensure silence on certain alleged incidents. I can’t speak to that.”
But then, in the next breath, he said:
“But what I can say is that if you have a prosecutor who ignores the crimes that happen every day in his jurisdiction and he chooses to go back many years to try to use something about porn star gag payments, it’s an example of pursuing a political agenda.”
Trump’s team, like when it comes to DeSantis, attacked. In an email titled, “Ron was wrong,” it focused on DeSantis saying, “I have real problems that I have to deal with here in Florida.”
“Florida Governor Ron DeSantis doesn’t think weaponizing our legal system is a ‘real problem,'” the email read before showing quote after quote from Republican after Republican support Trump.
“DeSantis stands alone,” it said. Trump himself has even harsher on its social media platform.
All of this is not only a strategic public relations move for the world by Trump, but also a test of loyalty.
The pressure he puts on Republicans is like one of the 36 Chinese schemes of psychological warfare: “Witching grass to startle snakes”. It basically means – do something to provoke a reaction from your enemies.
trumpet love talking about snakesand his team certainly see that in DeSantis, but, he should keep what they speak in Texas: “Don’t dig more snakes than you can kill.”
