Donald Trump rallies are notoriously violent, as his supporters, security staff and even Secret Service detail beat up protesters and members of the press who get too close to violent incidents (Drumpf himself explicitly encourages his supporters to beat up protesters).
Now, Trump has tactically withdrawn from a planned appearance in Chicago because police feared a riot.
But Chicago was just a skirmish in Trump’s long war on protesters. Again and again, Trump has spoken longingly about a “good old day” when the police were free to beat protesters until they were “carried out on stretchers.” He says “political correctness” has made America “weak” so protesters “get away with murder.” In Trump’s old days, “they used to treat them very, very rough. And when they protested once, you know, they would not do it again so easily.”
Trump’s war on protesters is just beginning. His security staff now includes plainclothes private officers who are specifically tasked with investigating and shutting down protesters.
On Monday, two members of Trump’s private security team again wore street clothes to Cabarrus Arena & Events Center here.
Before the start of the rally, they began assisting in the preemptive removal of potential dissenters, including a group of young people dressed in black who silently linked hands as they were jeered by Trump supporters and a man wearing a shirt that said “Fascist Trump” on the back.
Trump — who often says that he likes protesters because they are the only thing that makes camera operators aim away from him and pan his large crowds — also repeated a promise to deploy his own protests at future rallies but did not finish explaining why. “Every once in a while I’m going to bring my own demonstrator just to create—,” he said and trailed off.
Trump continued to taunt protesters and lament the fact that he and his supporters could not retaliate against them. “Bye-bye,” Trump told one protester after strolling away from his podium to stare the demonstrator down.
Trump cracks down on protesters
[Ben Schreckinger/Politico]
Trump Concerned His Rallies Are Not Violent Enough
[Robert Mackey/The Intercept]
(via Naked Capitalism)