For those who are fond of flagging conspiracy theories, flag away. I’ll admit up front this is just a theory—my opinion, if you will. If you read much you’ll already know a lot of this, but please bear with me to the end of this. Maybe you’ll also detect a pattern.
Trump’s latest mini-scandal is a Tweet that he put out yesterday. It showed Hillary Clinton, a pile of cash, and a big, red, six-pointed star emblazoned with the words, Most Corrupt Candidate Ever. After a backlash of Tweets complaining about antisemitism, the image was retweeted, this time with a circle replacing the star, and eventually the original Tweet was deleted.
Trump apologists exclaim that this is all PC horse poo. A sheriff’s badge is a six-pointed star, they say (often, but not always, true). They point out that he has taken a strongly pro-Israel position, and that his daughter Ivanka converted to Judaism when she married her Jewish husband. All also true. So who could possibly believe that Tweet was deliberately anti-Semitic?
Except anyone with the slightest familiarity with Judaism knows a Star of David when they see one. And they know that linking Judaism to suggestions of financial corruption is beyond offensive.
If this were the first time Trump had done something like this, I might be inclined to write it off as a stupid mistake. But it isn’t. When speaking to the Republican Jewish Coalition, he made the following comments.
“You’re not going to support me because I don’t want your money.”
“Is there anyone in this room who doesn’t negotiate deals? Probably more than any room I’ve ever spoken.”
It’s hard to believe any man who’s lived in New York City all his life doesn’t realize how these comments play upon antagonistic Jewish stereotypes.
Trump was strangely reluctant to distance himself from David Duke after man broadcast an anti-Semitic screed that included an exhortation for listeners to support Trump or be traitors to their heritage. Trump claimed to not know anything about Duke, despite the fact that he’s talked about him before.
Trump refused to condemn anti-Semitic attacks against Jewish journalists by his supporters. Even if he stands by the position that things the journalists wrote were unfair or inaccurate, there is NO reason he shouldn’t condemn antisemitism. Unless he’s OK with it.
His first wife, Ivana, told her attorney that Trump kept a book of Hitler speeches by his bed, and his cousin supposedly greeted him with the words “Heil Hitler.” (To be fair, he might have been joking. Except I wouldn’t think it was funny. I don’t think many people would.)
And God knows, Trump hasn’t limited his offenses to Jewish people. His repeated slurs and tolerance of slurs against Muslims are well-documented. He has said things about Latinos, Native Americans and African Americans that are far beyond the pale as well.
Trump’s supporters would say this is all just a rejection of the politically correct. They are tired of tip-toeing around every little sensibility. OK. But why does Trump seem to relish the offense he’s giving? If anything, once he’s called out on an offensive comment, he often doubles down. His own party has all but begged him to stop saying these things. He’s not stopping. He encourages his spokespeople to do it too—and God forbid they should apologize.
All the way back to 2011, when Trump stepped up to champion the Birther theory on national TV, he’s been unapologetically blowing the dogwhistle. America’s first black president couldn’t possibly be legitimate. There has to be something else going on. There are people who are bat-guano crazy enough to believe this thoroughly debunked theory, but I don’t think Trump was ever one of them. As the article cited above says, he championed the theory because it gave him an “in” with the people who do believe it.
Trump isn’t stupid. Careless, reckless, impulsive, maybe. But name another candidate in recent history who has come near his level of success without spending a whole lot more than Trump has spent. He hasn’t had to buy ad time. The man has been playing the media like a cheap banjo since the day he announced his candidacy. Maybe even before. They know it. They let him. He is great for ratings, and ratings mean money.
Trump understands the way it works. Maybe the coverage he’s gotten has been largely negative, but he himself said, in the Art of the Deal, “good publicity is preferable to bad, but from a bottom-line perspective, bad publicity is sometimes better than no publicity at all. Controversy, in short, sells.”
Trump undoubtedly knows, too, that every minute the media spends on him is time they are not spending on any other candidate. It’s another minute he dominates the narrative.
So he’s not stupid, and if he’s crazy, I argue there’s a method to the madness. Because at a certain point it gets a lot harder to believe that things like this recent Tweet are just accidental missteps. At a certain point it has to be deliberate. Which again begs the question, WHY is he doing these things?
Well, look at what it’s accomplished for him. Trump has a base of supporters who, in his own words, wouldn’t desert him even if he shot someone on Fifth Avenue. These are people who distrust the mainstream media. Their opinions have been formed by a steady diet of Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, and other right wing media. These are people who buy into conspiracy theories. (Yeah, I know, it’s ironic that I bring that up.) They really believe that vaccines cause autism. That Obama is a secret Muslim. That Sharia law is coming to America, and a whole lot of other nutty ideas.
Take a good look at that last link. Do you think Trump is clueless who he’s reaching out to when he chats on-air with the likes of Alex Jones and Michael Savage? Come on—he’s always reminding us that he’s a businessman. He’s no stranger to market research.
Among those who especially love these theories are skinheads, neo-Nazi’s, white nationalists, KKK, and other white separatist and white supremacist groups. These guys absolutely adore Trump. Doubt me? Get on Twitter and search #1488, #RAHOWA, or #ZOG, if you can stomach it. These are common slang references used by racist groups, expressing dedication to Hitler, racial holy war, and hatred for the “Zionist occupied government.” If you do the search, you’ll find a lot of nasty, ugly stuff, and a whole lot of Trump love. Some of these groups have actively campaigned for Trump.
And why wouldn’t they? What other mainstream candidate in recent history has so openly embraced their beliefs and values? He’s made it OK for them to speak up, too, when before they only spewed their filth when they were among like-minded friends. If you do the search I mentioned, you’ll also discover that most of the accounts that strew those terms around just started in the last year. Since Trump announced his candidacy.
And oh, by the way, white nationalists, skinheads, and other hate groups often have their own militias. And oh, by the way, at least one group which has already been in violent altercations has announced that they plan to be in Cleveland next month to support their guy. And oh, by the way, some Trump backers have announced that they plan to bring their guns. History geeks will be remembering the Beerhall Putsch right about now. As would anyone who, say, reads books about Hitler. Maybe it wasn’t so out of left field when Trump himself predicted riots should there be opposition to his nomination. I wouldn’t be at all surprised.
If Trump can’t win people over, he intimidates them. Ask Marvin Roffman, who as a securities analyst, said some negative things about the prospects of a new casino Trump was building. He says Trump threatened, coerced, and ultimately tried to ruin him. Or Vera Coking, the widow who wouldn’t sell her home to Trump when he wanted the land for a limo parking lot. She claimed his construction crew broke windows, set fire to her roof, and nearly demolished an entire floor of her house before trying to take it via eminent domain. Or Michael Cohl, who says he was threatened by “shtarkers” with brass knuckles the night he “fired” Trump on behalf of the Rolling Stones.
When possible, Trump tends to get other people to do the dirty work for him, while he keeps his own hands clean. He never did explicitly incite his supporters to beat protesters. He just hinted. It really didn’t take much. The people who support him are already angry. Take any angry crowd, stir up that anger, and direct it at a target. Watch what happens.
The predictable outcome doesn’t just include the immediate violence. There is also predictable reaction. Once Trump’s rallies became known for violence against protesters, any student of human behavior would tell you that there would be pushback. Now it’s protesters who are violent, and Trump and his fans get to play the victim. The people who let themselves be manipulated this way played right into his hands.
But back to the Trump supporters and the things they’re doing. Delegates who oppose Trump are getting death threats ahead of the upcoming convention. That’s not unique to Trump. Some Sanders supporters have done it too. But that’s the thing. When people get angry, especially about things that already stir their passions, threats and actual violence become more likely. It’s a predictable outcome. And Trump keeps doing and saying things that stir up groups of people who are known for that kind of thing. People who are already militant.
Like I said, go ahead and flag this as a conspiracy theory, although I don’t say there is any kind of conspiracy. I can’t prove this is his intention, and there’s absolutely no reason to believe Trump or any of his immediate advisers has any direct connection to extremist groups, or has contacted them or talked with them about anything, let alone organized campaigns of threats or violence. It’s just that I keep seeing a logical flow of cause and effect, and I think Trump is smart enough to see it too.
All I know is I wouldn’t want to be anywhere near Cleveland come convention time, especially if the Stop Trumpers look like they’re getting somewhere. So I’m thinking it may be more than simple disapproval of Trump that is keeping so many other Republican leaders away. And, given that he doesn’t want to share the stage with people who aren’t solidly behind him, that might just be the point.
As for the more recent polls that show him trailing Hillary, Trump doesn’t seem worried. But I think we should be. Hillary already has low favorability ratings, even among Democrats. The people who are voting for her aren't all that excited about the idea. Witness the fact that, however repugnant the things he's said may be, he’s not that far behind. It wouldn’t take much to swing it the other way. I can think of a number of things that could do it, including violence in Cleveland that is somehow linked to Hillary. (Pay special attention to the author of that last link, and then tell me I’m imagining things.)
Let’s see what happens in Cleveland.