Seems not everyone has heard of Sadopopulism (Timothy Snyder’s term)
Trump voters have always suffered from his policies. They suffer from tax policies that makes them poorer. They suffer when they don’t have health care. They suffer from cuts in education and public welfare.
But they love Trump because he tells them beautiful lies. He tells them they’re at the top of the hierarchy. He tells them the reason they are not doing better is that ‘others’ (minorities, migrants at the gates) are taking what rightfully belongs to them. He promises to take them back to a mythic time when all was well and America was great and they were happy.
Timothy Snyder coined the term “sadopopulism” because the policies of leaders like Putin and Trump actually hurt their own constituents while enriching and empowering the leaders.
Snyder pointed out (in one of his lectures) that twentieth-century fascists like Hitler did things that enriched ordinary Germans (like giving them the spoils when the Jews were robbed.) Hitler and Mussolini didn’t care about personal wealth. They just wanted power.
Twenty-first century fascists, though, want both wealth and power. The only way to get that is to hurt their own supporters, and the only way to get away with that is to tell lies.
Precisely. It’s self-perpetuating. The more he hurts them, the angrier they get, and the easier it is to manipulate them. That’s why Trump (and people like Marjorie Taylor Green) stroke outrage on the left. It entertains and thrills their followers.
PARDONS
Vanity Fair reported that Trump has repeatedly asked if he can “preemptively” pardon himself. He’s also inquired about pardons for his family members.
Let’s talk a little about pardons.
Pardons do not shield Trump from state prosecutions and offer no shield to civil liability. A self-pardon is most likely unconstitutional (although nobody has ever tried it).
Nothing prevents Trump from being forced to return whatever money he owes. I imagine we’ll find out Trump is flat broke. That’s why he’s figuring out how to leverage victimhood in this election to cash in. Figuring out how to cash in is what he’s best at.
Ford pardoned Nixon for any crimes he may have committed. That was never challenged, so we don’t know what a court would say. I assume Trump pardons will follow that model.
Some perspective on why the Constitution gives the president pardon power. 18th century America (as elsewhere) criminal punishments were often cruel and physically harsh: hanging, branding, whipping.
From Alexander Hamilton (the Federalist Papers): The laws “partake of necessary severity . . .without exceptions.”
All along Trump has been abusing the pardon power, using it to pardon people who break laws he doesn’t like. Remember Sheriff Arpaio? Obviously presidential pardons are problematic because if he can break any laws he wants and pardon himself, how does that not create a dictator?
Yup, there are lots of arguments against self-pardon. You can’t be your own judge. It violates the separation of powers. The president swears to faithfully uphold the laws, which he can’t do if he can break them and pardon himself.
This made me laugh, thanks. I can totally see Trump trying it. Some people speculate that he’ll resign so Pence can do it. Pardoning Nixon hurt Ford politically—but that was before the rise of modern right-wing media.
In the old days, Nixon was shamed for having committed crimes. Two things have changed: The composition of the Republican Party, and the right-wing disinformation loop. Roger Stone, Papadopolous, and others are right-wing heroes despite (or because of?) criminal prosecution
They could still stand on the fifth if they face liability for state crimes.
Aside: I expect to see pardons for Manafort, Flynn, and others.
From the “Ask Teri” tab
Q: I can understand why the Republican Party might be indulging Trump’s re-election fantasies for a bit longer—to try to ensure he doesn’t sabotage the two Georgia senate elections in January. Thereafter, however, or perhaps a bit before, it seems to me it would be in the interest of politicians like Pence, Pompeo, Cruz, Cotton, Haley, Hawsey, etc., to turn sharply against Trump to ensure he cannot run in 2024 and block their presidential chances. This would apply especially to Pence, making it unappealing for him to agree to pardon Trump should Trump resign before Biden’s inauguration. Do you agree?
Right now I’m having trouble imagining any of the above turning on Trump. It seems to me that they have firmly tied their fortunes to him. The reason is an unfortunate one. I think they want to win the hearts of Trump’s supporters. I also think that they are true believes. They’re MAGA to their core. (Maybe Haley is redeemable, but I can’t say for sure.)
The only way I see it happening is if Trump loses his grip on his base. The only way I see that happening is if Trump becomes a loser in their eyes. This will not happen through criminal prosecutions. Like Flynn and Papadopolous, I think a criminally-prosecuted Trump will remain a hero. He will appear to be harassed and victimized by a hateful and angry left wing.
On the other hand, suppose Trump ends up broke and isn’t able to earn enough from his next media venture to cover his debts and bills. What if the family ends up broke? Can you visualize Ivanka Trump in a three bedroom tract house somewhere? Me, neither.
I think what will destroy Trump is when the glitz is gone.
A Reader Makes Predictions
A reader sent me this:
I figure what’s going to happen is something like this:
A. The republican establishment (such as it is) will eventually come around to saying Biden is president. We’re starting to see this, as an Oklahoma (my home state) congress member said he should be getting the daily briefing. Even Bolton has said Biden is president-elect.
B. Same with the GAO. Probably in December, and under pressure from Congress.
C. Trump won’t. He’ll say he was robbed of the election until the day he dies.
D. I’m uncertain on the outcome of the election in Georgia, but for sure: Stacey Abrams will ensure the race is not stolen from the people of Georgia. Because she’s the best.
E. Oh, absolutely: Jan 20, Biden becomes president. DT is unlikely to attend, and the White House will be in shambles.
F. Tens of thousands of additional people will die due to DT’s intransigence & the virus.
G. On Jan 21, Trump loses access to Twitter and facebook. This’ll be fantastic, until he makes Trump TV.
H. He will have secret service protection the rest of his life, and that protection will look a lot like custody.
I. The difference in government ability is going to shock us all; it’s been a long-ass four years.
I figure it is unlikely DT will see the inside of a cell. And it doesn’t matter, not really.
What’s interesting is that contemplating the future of the Trump’s does feel like watching a reality show. It’s hard not to be curious about what will happen next to the Trump family. Will they land on their feet? Or will they lose everything? Will they continue inflicting damage on this country, or will they fade away?
I think much depends on what happens with control of the Senate: The only way to begin curtailing the untold damage done by the right-wing propaganda machine is if Congress can start regulating social media imposing consequences for dangerous lies.
