SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
People take part in a protest for "Michiganders Against Excessive Quarantine" at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing, Michigan on April 15, 2020. (Photo: Jeff Kowalsky/AFP via Getty Images)
'Unhinged' Trump Calls on His Mussolini-Style Black Shirts to Attack Michigan, Minnesota, Virginia
Given the tensions in the country and the real possibility of violence, Trump's tweets rise to the level of shouting "fire" in a crowded theater.
Apr 18, 2020
President Donald Trump's tweets on Friday, "Liberate Michigan," and "Liberate Minnesota," and "Liberate Virginia" were clearly intended to incite his armed, conspiracy-minded, militant followers on the far right against those elected state governments, which intend to buck him on reopening the economy on May 1.
The possibility of Trump-inspired violence against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and other state officials--and perhaps against any of us Michiganders who support her--cannot be ruled out. Trump is attempting to tarnish Whitmer in part because he sees her popularity as a threat to Trump's prospects for taking the state in November, and in part because he fears she may be Joe Biden's pick for vice president. He is being aided by astro-turfing paid for by a foundation with ties to the DeVos family fortune.
Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington state was blunt in his response:
The president's statements this morning encourage illegal and dangerous acts. He is putting millions of people in danger of contracting COVID-19. His unhinged rantings and calls for people to "liberate" states could also lead to violence. We've seen it before.
The president is fomenting domestic rebellion and spreading lies even while his own administration says the virus is real and is deadly, and that we have a long way to go before restrictions can be lifted.
Given the tensions in the country and the real possibility of violence, Trump's tweets rise to the level of shouting "fire" in a crowded theater, and meet the Supreme Court threshold for a "clear and present danger" deriving from public speech, which allows that speech to be prosecuted. In fact, if Trump weren't president and said these things, it is possible that the FBI would pay him a visit.
But let me underline what Gov. Inslee said: We have seen this before. It did not end well.
There once was a minor journalist who dealt in hate and grievance. Sort of the early twentieth century version of an NBC reality show star. He formed bands of far right-wing dregs called the "Black Shirts." Richard Gunderman of Indiana University writes:
- Mussolini's fascists formed squads of war veterans known as "Black Shirts," who would clash with the members of other political parties... In 1922, tens of thousands of Black Shirts gathered in Rome to demand political change. The liberal government sought to declare martial law, but the king of Italy, Victor Emmanuel III, fearing civil war, instead asked Mussolini to form a new government. While the Fascists constituted only a small percentage of Prime Minister Mussolini's original government, he pressured the legislature to grant him dictatorial powers over what citizens could do and not do, seeking to meld the state with the Fascist party.
A prominent liberal member of parliament who called fakery on Mussolini's subsequent phony electoral "victory" was murdered.
Lawrence Rosenthal, executive director of the Berkeley Center for Right-Wing Studies, wrote:
- The defining characteristic of fascism as a movement under Mussolini was the marriage of an electoral party and a private militia. Benito Mussolini was the leader, the Duce, of the post-World War I movement that gave fascism its name. As Mussolini gave speeches in the Italian parliament, his Black Shirts staged "punitive expeditions," violent and often fatal attacks on the political opposition, and disrupted the functions of local governments. Mussolini wielded violence as the stick end of a carrot and stick strategy: If we don't get our way we will beat you up."
I have consistently argued that the analogy for Trump is with Mussolini.
There has all along been a danger, which became dramatically apparent at Charlottesville, that Trump's fascist rhetoric would unleash violence by the far right. With millions out of work and a pandemic threatening us with a second wave of mass infections if we end social distancing too soon, the country is a powder keg. And we have a firebug for president.0
Bonus Video:
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
© 2023 Juan Cole
Juan Cole
Juan Cole teaches Middle Eastern and South Asian history at the University of Michigan. His newest book, "Muhammad: Prophet of Peace Amid the Clash of Empires" was published in 2020. He is also the author of "The New Arabs: How the Millennial Generation Is Changing the Middle East" (2015) and "Napoleon's Egypt: Invading the Middle East" (2008). He has appeared widely on television, radio, and on op-ed pages as a commentator on Middle East affairs, and has a regular column at Salon.com. He has written, edited, or translated 14 books and has authored 60 journal articles.
President Donald Trump's tweets on Friday, "Liberate Michigan," and "Liberate Minnesota," and "Liberate Virginia" were clearly intended to incite his armed, conspiracy-minded, militant followers on the far right against those elected state governments, which intend to buck him on reopening the economy on May 1.
The possibility of Trump-inspired violence against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and other state officials--and perhaps against any of us Michiganders who support her--cannot be ruled out. Trump is attempting to tarnish Whitmer in part because he sees her popularity as a threat to Trump's prospects for taking the state in November, and in part because he fears she may be Joe Biden's pick for vice president. He is being aided by astro-turfing paid for by a foundation with ties to the DeVos family fortune.
Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington state was blunt in his response:
The president's statements this morning encourage illegal and dangerous acts. He is putting millions of people in danger of contracting COVID-19. His unhinged rantings and calls for people to "liberate" states could also lead to violence. We've seen it before.
The president is fomenting domestic rebellion and spreading lies even while his own administration says the virus is real and is deadly, and that we have a long way to go before restrictions can be lifted.
Given the tensions in the country and the real possibility of violence, Trump's tweets rise to the level of shouting "fire" in a crowded theater, and meet the Supreme Court threshold for a "clear and present danger" deriving from public speech, which allows that speech to be prosecuted. In fact, if Trump weren't president and said these things, it is possible that the FBI would pay him a visit.
But let me underline what Gov. Inslee said: We have seen this before. It did not end well.
There once was a minor journalist who dealt in hate and grievance. Sort of the early twentieth century version of an NBC reality show star. He formed bands of far right-wing dregs called the "Black Shirts." Richard Gunderman of Indiana University writes:
- Mussolini's fascists formed squads of war veterans known as "Black Shirts," who would clash with the members of other political parties... In 1922, tens of thousands of Black Shirts gathered in Rome to demand political change. The liberal government sought to declare martial law, but the king of Italy, Victor Emmanuel III, fearing civil war, instead asked Mussolini to form a new government. While the Fascists constituted only a small percentage of Prime Minister Mussolini's original government, he pressured the legislature to grant him dictatorial powers over what citizens could do and not do, seeking to meld the state with the Fascist party.
A prominent liberal member of parliament who called fakery on Mussolini's subsequent phony electoral "victory" was murdered.
Lawrence Rosenthal, executive director of the Berkeley Center for Right-Wing Studies, wrote:
- The defining characteristic of fascism as a movement under Mussolini was the marriage of an electoral party and a private militia. Benito Mussolini was the leader, the Duce, of the post-World War I movement that gave fascism its name. As Mussolini gave speeches in the Italian parliament, his Black Shirts staged "punitive expeditions," violent and often fatal attacks on the political opposition, and disrupted the functions of local governments. Mussolini wielded violence as the stick end of a carrot and stick strategy: If we don't get our way we will beat you up."
I have consistently argued that the analogy for Trump is with Mussolini.
There has all along been a danger, which became dramatically apparent at Charlottesville, that Trump's fascist rhetoric would unleash violence by the far right. With millions out of work and a pandemic threatening us with a second wave of mass infections if we end social distancing too soon, the country is a powder keg. And we have a firebug for president.0
Bonus Video:
Juan Cole
Juan Cole teaches Middle Eastern and South Asian history at the University of Michigan. His newest book, "Muhammad: Prophet of Peace Amid the Clash of Empires" was published in 2020. He is also the author of "The New Arabs: How the Millennial Generation Is Changing the Middle East" (2015) and "Napoleon's Egypt: Invading the Middle East" (2008). He has appeared widely on television, radio, and on op-ed pages as a commentator on Middle East affairs, and has a regular column at Salon.com. He has written, edited, or translated 14 books and has authored 60 journal articles.
President Donald Trump's tweets on Friday, "Liberate Michigan," and "Liberate Minnesota," and "Liberate Virginia" were clearly intended to incite his armed, conspiracy-minded, militant followers on the far right against those elected state governments, which intend to buck him on reopening the economy on May 1.
The possibility of Trump-inspired violence against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and other state officials--and perhaps against any of us Michiganders who support her--cannot be ruled out. Trump is attempting to tarnish Whitmer in part because he sees her popularity as a threat to Trump's prospects for taking the state in November, and in part because he fears she may be Joe Biden's pick for vice president. He is being aided by astro-turfing paid for by a foundation with ties to the DeVos family fortune.
Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington state was blunt in his response:
The president's statements this morning encourage illegal and dangerous acts. He is putting millions of people in danger of contracting COVID-19. His unhinged rantings and calls for people to "liberate" states could also lead to violence. We've seen it before.
The president is fomenting domestic rebellion and spreading lies even while his own administration says the virus is real and is deadly, and that we have a long way to go before restrictions can be lifted.
Given the tensions in the country and the real possibility of violence, Trump's tweets rise to the level of shouting "fire" in a crowded theater, and meet the Supreme Court threshold for a "clear and present danger" deriving from public speech, which allows that speech to be prosecuted. In fact, if Trump weren't president and said these things, it is possible that the FBI would pay him a visit.
But let me underline what Gov. Inslee said: We have seen this before. It did not end well.
There once was a minor journalist who dealt in hate and grievance. Sort of the early twentieth century version of an NBC reality show star. He formed bands of far right-wing dregs called the "Black Shirts." Richard Gunderman of Indiana University writes:
- Mussolini's fascists formed squads of war veterans known as "Black Shirts," who would clash with the members of other political parties... In 1922, tens of thousands of Black Shirts gathered in Rome to demand political change. The liberal government sought to declare martial law, but the king of Italy, Victor Emmanuel III, fearing civil war, instead asked Mussolini to form a new government. While the Fascists constituted only a small percentage of Prime Minister Mussolini's original government, he pressured the legislature to grant him dictatorial powers over what citizens could do and not do, seeking to meld the state with the Fascist party.
A prominent liberal member of parliament who called fakery on Mussolini's subsequent phony electoral "victory" was murdered.
Lawrence Rosenthal, executive director of the Berkeley Center for Right-Wing Studies, wrote:
- The defining characteristic of fascism as a movement under Mussolini was the marriage of an electoral party and a private militia. Benito Mussolini was the leader, the Duce, of the post-World War I movement that gave fascism its name. As Mussolini gave speeches in the Italian parliament, his Black Shirts staged "punitive expeditions," violent and often fatal attacks on the political opposition, and disrupted the functions of local governments. Mussolini wielded violence as the stick end of a carrot and stick strategy: If we don't get our way we will beat you up."
I have consistently argued that the analogy for Trump is with Mussolini.
There has all along been a danger, which became dramatically apparent at Charlottesville, that Trump's fascist rhetoric would unleash violence by the far right. With millions out of work and a pandemic threatening us with a second wave of mass infections if we end social distancing too soon, the country is a powder keg. And we have a firebug for president.0
Bonus Video:
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.