by Craig Colby
“Stand back and stand by”.
Those were the most chilling words in a shocking “debate” performance by President Donald Trump. Trump was replying to moderator Chris Wallace’s request to ask white supremacist and militia groups to avoid contributing to the violence in American streets right now.
Republican proxies on the analysis shows afterwards, clearly uncomfortable with having to defend this statement, generally indicated his people would have to fix this the next day.
Fix what? This was no misstatement. There is nothing to clarify. Trump’s statement, especially combined with his performance and his comments afterwards, was crystal clear. He wants armed hate groups to be ready when he needs them. And that time will be when the votes are being counted.
Later, when discussing counting ballots, Trump added “this is not going to end well.”
The latter statement concerns me as much as the former.
Finally Truthful
It’s hard to know when a serial liar like Trump is telling the truth, but I believe he means both of those comments. They fit in perfectly with one part of Trump’s character that we’ve seen in abundance. Trump wants confrontation.
You could see that in his interrupting abusive performance last night. You could see it in the way he ripped into Justin Trudeau when he felt crossed by the Canadian Prime Minister. You can see it in the way he violently cleared the streets to pose with a bible at the church across the street from the White House.
You can especially see it in the support he’s expressed for 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse, who is accused of shooting and killing two protesters in an altercation in Kenosha Wisconsin. Trump is quick to condemn Antifa and Black Lives Matter but will do nothing to deter alt-right hate groups and white supremacists. That’s because has no intention of stopping them - he’s aiming them. Look at the rest of the first statement I quoted:
“Proud Boys, stand back and stand by but I’ll tell you what, I’ll tell you what, somebody’s got to do something about Antifa and the left because this is not a right wing problem, this is a left wing problem.”
Later, when asked if he’d urge his followers to keep the peace while the votes are being counted, Trump added “I’m urging my supporters to go into the polls and watch very carefully because that’s what has to happen. I am urging them to do it.” He then went on to strongly question the legitimacy of the election and said about his opponents “they cheat.”
Directing Violence
It doesn’t take much to put those pieces together. Armed militia, white supremacists and alt-right hate groups need to be ready when called, because the opponents, friendly with rioters and anarchists, are going to cheat. His followers need to go to the polls while people are voting.
Trump’s not discouraging violence, he’s directing it.
If this sounds shocking, consider this - Trump has destroyed all Presidential norms so far, chumming up to fascists, repelling allies, sending troops to attack American citizens, and turning a debate into obnoxious bullying. Every time we see these things happen; we’re shocked. We shouldn’t be. Normal is gone. We can no longer view the world through that lens.
It’s time to look at what the president said last night through the lens of what we’ve learned about him. He owes a lot of money to someone, no one knows who, so he’s desperate to win this election. He knew coronavirus was deadly and hid it from the country, now 200, 000 Americans are dead from the disease. Trump doesn’t care if his own people die. As we saw when he used the military to clear peaceful protesters outside the White House so he could pose with a bible outside a church, he’ll even send troops against citizens. He’s also cleared out naysayers and surrounded himself with sycophants and enablers.
Americans need to be ready for this President to employ violent hate groups to hold on to power while the votes are being counted and afterwards when things don’t go his way.
The Endgame
Trump only said one thing last night I believe to be true. “This is not going to end well.”
We all have to be ready for violence in the streets like we haven’t seen yet. Not brought on by the angry or disenfranchised. Not brought on by criminals. Encouraged by the President of the United States.
I never would have thought it possible even months ago, but Americans have to be prepared for the possibility of another civil war.
As bad as 2020 has been, the trapped animal that is Donald Trump could make it much, much worse.
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Craig Colby is a television executive producer, producer, director, writer and story editor. He runs a storytelling consulting and production service for businesses. He can be reached at craig@colbyvision.net.