"What is really remarkable is the extent to which he’s communicated that to his base. He’s tapped into this really visceral hatred of the other and the desire to inflict pain and suffering on them. I think that that is one of the ugliest aspects, and we saw that with the ‘Mass Deportation Now!’ signs.”

#Trump #cruelty #PerformativeCruelty
/5

"He would tell the story about Gen. ‘Black Jack’ Pershing in World War I taking Muslim terrorists and shooting them with bullets that had been dipped in pig’s blood. He’s talked about extrajudicial killings. He has expressed his admiration for strongmen like Duterte in the Philippines who have done this. He’s talked about having drug courts that would have trials and executions the same day."

#Trump #cruelty #PerformativeCruelty
/4

“This culture of performative cruelty and brutality is one of the aspects of [Trump's] appeal. For many years he’s been saying that his idea of law and order is to have cops who will break heads and inflict harm. He’s talked about putting razor blades on the top of the wall that Mexico was going to pay for. He’s told stories about atrocities."

~ Charlie Sykes

#Trump #cruelty #PerformativeCruelty #immigrants
/3

https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/how-should-we-respond-to-the-maga

"President Trump said violent crime in big cities was 'out of control.' The new FBI report on 2024 data says otherwise. …

The FBI’s data is unambiguous. Far from being “out of control,” violent crime in the United States fell by an estimated 4.5% in 2024. The numbers are even more striking when you break them down."

~ Jeff Nesbit

#Trump #WashingtonDC #military #NationalGuard #ICE #FBI #PerformativeCruelty #Epstein #economy
/15

https://contrarian.substack.com/p/president-trump-said-violent-crime

"And it is now arriving (returning, really) to the capital. Each time, the president has justified these military deployments under the pretext of a domestic crisis that facts do not support."

#Trump #WashingtonDC #military #NationalGuard #ICE #FBI #PerformativeCruelty #Epstein #economy
/14

"There are the especially concerning facts of this military deployment, which we must place in the context of an ever-growing impulse to deploy the military within the United States. It began eight months ago at the southern border. It spread to Los Angeles earlier this summer."

~ Chris Mirasola

#Trump #WashingtonDC #military #NationalGuard #ICE #FBI #PerformativeCruelty #Epstein #economy
/13

https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/deploying-the-d.c.-national-guard

"But at Trump’s press conference he claimed, 'Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals roving mobs of wild youth, drugged out maniacs and homeless people, and we’re not going to let it happen anymore.'”

#Trump #WashingtonDC #military #NationalGuard #ICE #FBI #PerformativeCruelty #Epstein #economy
/12

"Data released by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in January, revealed that total violent crime in D.C. was at a 30-year low in 2024, and had decreased by 35 percent from 2023. Homicides were down 32 percent from 2023; robberies were down almost 40 percent; and armed carjackings were down more than 50 percent."

~ Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

#Trump #WashingtonDC #military #NationalGuard #ICE #FBI #PerformativeCruelty #Epstein #economy
/11

https://truthout.org/articles/trump-to-send-national-guard-troops-into-d-c-and-the-military-if-its-needed/

Trump also suggested that cities far beyond Washington’s region could experience the same fate.

'We have other cities also that are bad. Very bad. You look at Chicago, how bad it is. You look at Los Angeles, how bad it is. We have other cities that are very bad. New York has a problem. And then, of course, you have Baltimore and Oakland.'"

#Trump #WashingtonDC #military #NationalGuard #ICE #FBI #PerformativeCruelty #Epstein #economy
/10