Trump may be leaving people “in suspense” about how he’ll react to the news that he’s lost the election, but a lot of Trump voters are leaving no doubt about what they’ll do next.
“People are going to march on the capitols,” said Mr. Halbrook, who works at a call center. “They’re going to do whatever needs to be done to get her out of office, because she does not belong there.”
“If push comes to shove,” he added, and Mrs. Clinton “has to go by any means necessary, it will be done.”
Like a toddler playing with matches, Donald Trump loves all the pretty colors and excitement, but he’s not all that concerned about what he might burn down in the process.
Interviews with more than 50 Trump supporters at campaign events in six states over the past week revealed a distinct change from the rollicking mood earlier this year, when Mr. Trump’s surprising primary successes and emergence as an unconventional Republican standard-bearer set off broad excitement. The crowds appeared on edge and quick to lash out.
For months, Donald Trump has been promising that he would make every dream come true. Jobs? Millions of jobs! Money? You’re going to be so rich! And those … brown people who aren’t like me? We’re gonna build a wall, put them all on the other side, and make them pay for it!
Now he’s telling his followers that all those dreams are being stolen away. By cheaters.
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No pony for you. No pony for you. And no pony for you. All because of evil Hillary rigging the election.
“You go through any neighborhood and see how many Trump signs there are and how many Hillary signs there are, and I guarantee you it’s not even going to be close,” said Bill Stelling, 44, of Jacksonville, Fla. “The only way they’ve done it is by rigging the election.”
The truth is that the Trump campaign has internal polls showing numbers just like that of public polls. He knows that he is losing. But that’s not what he’s feeding the people who attend his rally, receive his emails, or read his tweets. Instead, Trump is fanning the flames, driving the idea that the polls are rigged, the election is rigged, that even in Texas the voting machines are rigged.
This isn’t about winning. Trump knows he isn’t winning. This is about stoking the anger that fuels his supporters and making sure that they don’t walk away when Trump, for all his swagger, turns out to be just another loser. Trump would be just as happy if they didn’t vote. He just wants the anger.
It’s a position boosted by the Alt-Right sources that are symbiotic with the Trump campaign.
An information diet from Trump-friendly outlets like Breitbart News and Infowars has led many to believe that there is no way Mr. Trump can lose, and that even contemplating the possibility is foolish. “I’d be shocked,” said Rick Hill, 58, of Fort Myers, Fla.
Trump wants to keep his supporters ignorant and angry, feeding them a steady diet that he is winning, the polls can’t be trusted, the press can’t be trusted, and the only way he can lose is if Hillary cheats.
It’s a tactic that may feed into how Trump keeps scamming in the future, but the cost of jump-starting Donald Trump’s next scheme, may be very high.
And it’s not helped by idiots like former Congressman Joe Walsh who are trying to skim some of that sweet, sweet anger cash.