In the annals of American history, there is no parallel to tonight’s unhinged remarks Trump delivered to soldiers at Fort Liberty, North Carolina.
Our nation has had the misfortune of suffering from Trump’s belligerence for so long that we’ve grown inured to his recent rapid escalation. Tonight marks a dramatic escalation and the triumph of his political career. Trump’s been eager to exact revenge on his domestic enemies, and he’s been eager to deploy troops against them, according to members of the military high command who served under him.
As we’ve seen with history’s worst dictators, the first step before atrocities, mass detention, and pogroms is dehumanizing one’s opponents. Trump takes this to a high art and it was on full display tonight. Trump incited soldiers to use dehumanizing language against the mayor of LA and the Governor of California as if they are an enemy to be conquered. That these troops are cheering against democratically elected officials and millions of Angelenos who didn’t invite them should demonstrate everything you need to know about how illegal, unconstitutional, and frankly treasonous this military occupation is. There is only one invasion in California and that’s ICE, DHS, and now 5,000 US troops—more than Syria or Afghanistan.
He called the people of Los Angeles “animals” while riling up our own troops to hate them.
But he didn’t stop there. He announced he was changing US military bases to the names of Confederate generals, the same handful of traitors responsible for the deaths of more American and union soldiers than anyone in our nation’s military history. The US Army soldiers and high brass, without a word of opposition, gearing up to battle their own people, drunk on delusion, and proud to now reside with the names of their greatest enemies, all for the sole sick pleasure of a rapist and draft dodger.
IT IS HAPPENING HERE. RIGHT NOW.
What I can tell you is that you are not powerless. We are not powerless. As we’ve seen with dictators throughout history, if millions of people come into the streets, if we can strike and stop commerce, we can overwhelm any police state, and demand the end of this criminal regime.
Nothing else will stop their plans. If you love this nation, if you love your family, if you are sick and fucking tired of this tyrant dividing our communities, destroying our democracy, sowing hatred and chaos, and promising death and destruction while he blows up the economy, HIT THE STREETS!!
I know you’re probably scared, I am too. We are all scared. But together, we can change the world and we can bring this tyrant to his knees.
Never forget we are the nation that defeated the British Empire on these grounds, we’re the people who burned the Confederate slaveocracy to the ground, we turned the Third Reich to ashes. And we are the nation that can dust this diminished dictator. Drop everything you are doing and come out this weekend NO KINGS PROTEST, Saturday June 14 in every city and state.
Trump wants a Second Civil War. Let’s give him a Second American Revolution.
