Trump Oversees Another Scary Rally

Donald Trump held another Make America Clap for Me Again Rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, last night, and it was exactly as terrifying as you'd expect, given the air in his lungs after his claimed "complete exoneration" by Attorney General Bill Barr's summary of Special Counsel Bob Mueller's report on his collusion and obstruction investigation.

David Nakamura and Colby Itkowitz at the Washington Post have a good summary of the rally, which was, as always, full of blatant lies, rampaging authoritarianism, and "Lock her up!" chants:

At the rally, the president was met with chants of "Four more years!" from the crowd, which also booed at Trump's mention of Democrats and the news media, and chanted "Lock her up" at the mention of Hillary Clinton.

Before he arrived, the crowd at one point chanted "AOC sucks," a reference to the liberal Democratic congresswoman from New York, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who has become a favorite foil for conservatives. Later, in a preview of what's to come over the next 19 months, Trump called Democrats "socialists" who have a "cynical and destructive agenda of radicalism, resistance, and revenge."

Trump also talked about the border, his last campaign's signature issue and a surefire hit with his supporters. To chants of "Build the wall," he promised them he was doing so and threatened that if anyone tried to stop him, he would shut down the border.

"Democrats want to pretend there is no border crisis," he said.

Trump then questioned the legitimacy of migrants seeking asylum in the United States. Claiming that lawyers coach them, he mimicked asylum seekers, saying, "I am very afraid for my life, I am afraid for my life."

"It's a big fat con job," he said.

What a monster. There is, unfortunately, much more at the link.

On Twitter, Aaron Rupar has a great thread with video of the event, highlighting many of the more stunning and terrifying moments of the rally. Here is a short clip that perfectly captures the tone of the evening and Trump's emboldened attitude:

TRUMP: "The Democrats now have decide whether they will continue defrauding the public with ridiculous bullshit." #BeBest pic.twitter.com/O2SAoh41UD

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 28, 2019

Trump, standing at his podium, surrounded by a cheering crowd: "The Democrats have to now decide whether they will continue defrauding the public with ridiculous bullshit." The crowd goes wild, cheering and applauding. Trump then continues: "Partisan investigations, or whether they will apologize to the American people and join us to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure."

That's...quite the framing. Democrats have defrauded the public and now need to apologize and capitulate to Trump, who wants nothing more than to Make America Great Again. Shiver.

We need to be aware of and understand where this is headed, as every last vestige of potential accountability for Trump falls away. The more unfettered power he knows he has, the worse this is going to get.

It's important to face that reality honesty, to let it motivate us to stay engaged and resisting with everything we've got in the hopes we can yet prevent the worst outcomes, and to keep our wits about us so that we aren't blindsided by whatever happens next.

I'm not going to let Trump demoralize me, no matter how much he tries. I am going to take the vile trash he disgorges and use it to fuel the fire in my belly.