Thread by @JYSexton

With Trump provoking violence at his upcoming rally and revelations about his approval of concentration camps, it is WAY past time people recognize he's an authoritarian leading a fascist movement

Continuing to deny reality only gifts him cover.

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themuckrake.com/main/bolton

I want to be clear before we get into this that what John Bolton did was a despicable act of cowardice.

He withheld information that could have saved lives for profit.

But we need to reckon with that information and what it tells us about this authoritarian regime.

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What Bolton witnessed in the was nothing short of a president violating the Constitution, betraying America for his own purposes and power, and giving approval for fascistic endeavors.

It is massive and reveals what many of us have been screaming about: Trump is a danger.

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Bolton has now exposed that Trump not only begged Chinese president Xi Jinping to help him win reelection, violating our laws, but that he gave approval for Xi to use concentration camps as a means of trying to win influence and assistance.

Think about that.

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Trump, as President of the United States, was so desperate to maintain his power and so unimpeded by basic human empathy or morality, that he promoted deadly and brutal means of controlling an endangered community.

This is a terrifying insight into his true nature.

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Muslims in China are under constant persecution and attack.

Trump sold them and their safety in exchange for illegal help in his reelection efforts.

Read that again.

Trump sold them and their safety in exchange for illegal help in his reelection efforts.

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Of course, for people paying attention, it's no surprise that Trump would approve of such brutality.

His treatment of immigrant families and children on the border has been fascism by definition, a display of brutal force for political purposes.

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It isn't just that Trump pushed the imprisonment of immigrants, it's that his administration made the process INTENTIONALLY CRUEL as a means of meeting their political goals.

The violence and hatred and suffering was on purpose. This is how fascism works.

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But Trump's fascism at home and his tendencies aren't the only troubling things. Obviously, he has naturally gravitated to other authoritarians, which is a feature of growing fascism on a global scale.

He's rejected democratic allies in favor of dictators.

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You don't even have to believe in collusion to see that Trump has intentionally shifted America's allegiances from liberal democracy to authoritarianism.

His full-hearted embrace of Vladimir Putin over our traditional allies speaks volumes of what he values and believes.

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Though it gets lost in the din of social media, Trump approved and covered up the literal murder, slaughter, and dismembering of an American journalist.

Why?

To further his alliances with authoritarian powers in Saudi Arabia.

He betrayed Americans and he betrayed America.

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In the process of helping Saudi Arabia cover up their murder, Trump made it obvious why he would do so.

Money.

That's it. He couldn't even hide that he valued profit and power over human rights or human dignity.

This is his worldview, his only principle. Power and wealth.

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While legitimizing North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, Trump moved America even further into authoritarianism and into league with these rogue countries.

But it was his admiration for Kim's fascistic, nightmarish dystopia that should really give people pause.

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In his dealings with Kim Jong Un, Trump could not help but speak openly about how he wanted a country like North Korea where everyone was forced to worship him and dissent was met with deadly force.

He said this openly and often. He desires an authoritarian state.

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We've seen this play out in the media, where Trump openly expressed a desire to have state-run propaganda that worshiped him like Kim's.

Trump literally believes Fox News is too hard on him and has even pivoted to OAN, which desires to be his propaganda organ.

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What we see during the protests with his photo op with the Bible was an actual attempt at turning full authoritarian.

It was Trump leaning into his instincts and declaring himself a white-identity evangelical dictator.

Though it fizzled, it doesn't change the intent.

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Like other authoritarians, Trump has allowed paramilitary street gangs and extremists to carry out his intimidation and voice the radical ideology that underpins his power.

This has happened throughout history and in all of these regimes. It's a predictable cycle.

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These street gangs of white supremacists have killed over and over again and they do so as a means of terrorism, intimidation, and in pushing Trump's control.

His occasional "condemnation" is only cover for what he sees as a necessary and important piece of his power.

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As authoritarians wait for the moment to consolidate power, they rely on radicalized supporters to hear their rhetoric and provocations and carry out asymmetrical attacks, including targeted assassinations and terror campaigns.

We've been watching this for years.

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Now, during the Black Lives Matter Movement, Trump's attacks and dangerous rhetoric has mobilized his supporters to again take matters into their own hands.

The provocations we're seeing in the street are a direct result of his rhetoric and direction.

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We've seen Right Wing gangs, militias, and paramilitary squads take up weapons, guns, blades, bows and arrows, even bombs, all of them believing they're operating within Trump's desires.

This is what happens in a country that is about to slip into the authoritarian abyss.

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We've seen a shooting in New Mexico, but it may only be a portend of future dangers as this situation continues to escalate and tensions grow.

This is the environment an authoritarian fascist relishes. It's what they create time and time again in order to consolidate power.

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Trump's provocation today regarding his rally is an invitation for protesters to come and for his supporters to spill their blood.

Trump knows he can only maintain power with cruelty, chaos, and violence. This is an attempt to create a tragedy.

End of story.

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I reported from Trump's rallies in 2016 and tried to sound the alarm. His supporters told me they wanted to hurt people, kill people, carry out fascistic revenge, realize a bloody revolution.

They listened to Trump's words and took them to their logical and violent ends.

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These rallies I reported from were fascistic moments, his supporters primed and ready to carry out violence in response to protesters, damaging polls, moments of frustration and failure.

Each of them was a powderkeg and I never went to one without hearing lust for violence.

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The truth is this: Trump is president because he harnessed the power of a fascistic movement obsessed with maintaining white supremacy and power.

We've seen this movie before. It's played out repeatedly throughout history. It's all there, plain as day.

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We fail to recognize who Trump is and that the GOP is a fascistic movement because it means a long look in the mirror, a reckoning with our myths and everpresent white supremacy.

We don't want to believe it's happening and so we deny what's so obvious and gift them cover.

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There's real potential for this rally to be a national tragedy. Understand that's what Trump wants. He wants to create an America where chaos and bloodshed require an authoritarian and the consolidation of power.

He is engaging in terrorism and fascistic maneuvering.

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Bolton himself is a disgusting fascist who has advocated illegal wars and crimes against humanity.

The fact that even this monster is repulsed by and terrified of what Trump actually is should tell you everything you need to know.

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Time is running out to recognize what's in front of us.

Trump is an authoritarian. There is a cycle to these things, a means by which they consolidate power and destroy institutions and freedom.

Learn the cycle. Recognize the signs. Tell people.

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themuckrake.com/main/authorita…