“Why Can’t I Do That Too?”
Could be January 6th every day soon
The fallout of Trump taking everything into his own hands and facing and heeding no legal repurcussions because no one in federal law enforcement is going to come after him, is going to be ugly as hell. Add Elon Musk to that too. And maybe dozens, maybe hundreds, maybe thousands of others that we already know about, and may be impossible to do anything about if no one is going to investigate and prosecute them. Or as Trump would put it “weaponize” law enforcement and Justice against those who act in his service. However irresponsibly. However violently.
And no one’s really thinking about it yet, because the initial abuse of power is only about 1/2 complete.
So let’s look at where this is headed, and what people are going to think they’re entitled to as Trump-backers.
First of all, courts are being asked to block many of Trump’s brazenly illegal and unconstitutional actions.
Scholars and reporters are quaintly and breathlessly reporting that Trump wants these court challenges because he thinks he can win and give him cover change things forever. The Supreme Court has even given him hints they may be willing to do so at least to some extent, and have not be ckear at all about where they may draw the line, if any.
But the fact is, he already wins–if he wants to–no matter what limitations are placed on him by the courts (or even Congress for that matter, which at this time is controlled by Republicans so they’re not inclined to do anything along these lines.)
Because, really, who’s going to enforce a federal court ruling against Trump? (Or for that matter, even if those Republicans in Congress ever grow a spine, who’s gonna even care what they mandate?)
If Trump says don’t, is anybody realistically going to arrest people for not following what’s been the law of the land for centuries, regardless of who is in power?
No. Nobody. That’s who.
And if the FBI won’t investigate, and the Justice Department won’t prosecute, what down side does Trump have to just simply ignoring the courts (and congress), even the Supreme Court?
Answer: there’s no down side. He’s completely free to do it. And he will. His suppoters–supposed “law and order” people all (or most)–will even love him for it.
And that’s going to inspire a whole bunch of other people in this land to take matters into their own hands if they come across laws and even people they don’t like.
Because if the president can do it, and encourages it, why not join in? Why not them?
And they may start 1) acting in ways that accelerate a breakdown in society, 2) start going to jail (a big maybe) and 3) killing people.
In the belief that it’s with Trump’s blessing, or at least that it doesn’t matter.
And Trump’s not a benign actor here. His pardoning of virtually every single January 6th insurrectionist is both an abomination and a call to action.
He’s followed this by a steady stream of hypocrisy reinforcing that if you support what he likes, doesn’t matter what the law is, or even his own policies regarding the law are: for instance his very recent Executive Order to protect White South Africans and help them resettle in the United States. That after killing dead similar programs to protect Black and Brown people also under real threat of peril to their lives and/or livelihoods from their governments.
Maybe it’s fair to do what he’s doing with South Africa. (And pretty obviously this wouldn’t even be on Trump’s radar if not for Musk, Thiel, et. al., who are all White South Africans.) But it also sends a message that he’s all too happy to see the lives of people from other countries crumble when they’re in similar straits, and asserts forcefully the U.S. should not be involved. Because those are “garbage” people, not “his” people.
Gaza is another example: it’s the worst thing in the world to displace White South Africans and appropriate their real estate, but it’s Trump’s solution for Gaza.
So it creates what people are starting to feel is a protected class in the US: White and not necessarily non-violent, and not necessarily legally culpable for anything. Especially if they’re acting in service of Trump, and they can convince him to see it that way.
I even kind of understand their motivation and frustration because it is amazingly difficult to see my tax dollars being put to work ripping the country apart and putting my tax dollars to work to abet things I totally do not support. Like footing the bill for Trump’s personal legal army at the Justice Department who will be used to come after lots of people while letting Trump scorn the law.
But, because I don’t have the president’s support, I can’t just walk out the door one morning and say “from now on, I’m just going to do whatever the hell I want to do: F the law”. Because if Trump’s doing it, and they see themselves doing it in service of Trump. And maybe even
because Daddy Trump is increasingly making shows of protecting them, why should they even care about the law at all?
There’s a whole class of people now out there who fit this bill. And increasingly see themselves as agents of Trump’s “vengance”. And their job very clearly is to disrupt the lives of law abiding citizens, with impunity, and maybe no consequence.
That’s what’s coming next. Either with the blessing of the courts, or not. Either way.
Everybody deciding to make their own law, and leaving it up to Trump to sort out.
And that’s when this country enters a far more sinister phase.