“Some of the risk factors of violent extremism identified are increasing nationwide: social isolation, financial stress, job loss, loss of loved ones and significant changes or uncertainty in life. My team also found that some groups would perceive public health measures... 1/
...as government overreach infringing on rights and liberties, which might encourage anti-government extremists. And we observed foreign actors and domestic violent extremists spreading disinformation about the pandemic to foment discord and encourage violence.” 2/
“In March, anticipating the effects of the lockdowns and the need for national unity, my team developed a messaging campaign to help leaders build resilience within communities. Although the materials were approved within DHS, they were” held up by the WH Covid-19 Task Force. 3/
“Though lockdowns were necessary public health measures that saved thousands of lives, they exacerbate risk factors and stressors that contribute to violence, and no amount of resource reallocation in the national security and law enforcement agencies can change that.” 4/
“This is where leadership makes a difference. A good leader can speak to the country — especially those most susceptible to radicalization — and contextualize the ...struggle against covid-19 in a way that unites people and discourages division, anger and grievance.” 5/
“Rather than bring us together, the president did the exact opposite. In April, he tweeted, “LIBERATE MINNESOTA!” and “LIBERATE MICHIGAN!” and “LIBERATE VIRGINIA, and save your great 2nd Amendment. It is under siege!” 6/
“Combined w/ the pres.’s repeated efforts to undermine the legitimacy of the election & militaristic calls to “join Army for Trump’s election security operation,” LE officials have expressed concerns to me that the president’s rhetoric will lead to more civil unrest & violence.”7
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I'm a big fan of @SenSasse Wish he would say this publicly, not just on a closed call. The fears of losing the party forever is legitimate...Trump has caused significant damage; might be irreparable. Need to acknowledge the mistakes and harm caused before we can rebuild.
An update: Original story mischaracterized the forum in which the comments took place. It wasn’t a private call, but a virtual town hall with his constituents. That’s good news. Glad he’s speaking publicly about the problem of Trump. I know some see this as too little too late...
Sasse has a record of criticizing Trump. Axios ranked Sasse 4th lowest in their “trump loyalty index” of R-Senators. Many of us wish he & the others at the low end of the loyalty scale would have done more. ... axios.com/always-trumper…
Thank you @JamesCarville. Needed some hope today. "I know it’s difficult for so many of us to feel hope in this moment, which seems so incomprehensibly dark...a nation deeply wounded from a liberated virus...struggling with systemic racism..." 1/ thebulwark.com/a-crusade-for-…
2/"& we’ve endured lashing mental abuse, time and again, from the president of the United States. But it is not a darker moment than what Ike saw when he looked across the English Channel on June 6, 1944 at the continent of Europe, dominated by the Nazis. So I see a light ahead."
3/"Just days away, a unified and electrified coalition of Americans, coming together like our country did in WWII, standing united to send a message that will be heard around the world to all those who look..."
“In less than three weeks, the people will speak. There is a huge market for what Trump is selling, and the fact that Trump has the loyalty of 40 to 45 percent of the electorate speaks to that.” 1/
Opinion | Biden Is Not Out of the Woods - NYT nytimes.com/2020/10/14/opi…
“If Biden wins, can Dems move past mobilizing voters in opp. to Trump to the development of a gov. strategy that builds & maintains a functional majority coalition, instead of provoking a repeat of the post-victory waves of opposition that plagued the party in 1994 & 2010?” 2/
“The question of the hour, though, is what happens if and when Trump himself is taken out of the political equation. In what guise might the ethnonationalism he has mobilized re-emerge? Can Biden contain the forces that are now on the loose?” 3/
Words matter. If you’ve been raised in the pro-life movement, you’re likely familiar w/ the US’s disturbing eugenics history. Trump’s racehorse theory is the precursor to eugenics and Holocaust. Article makes clear he actually believes it. Evil. latimes.com/politics/story…
"Rob Eshman, the former editor of the Jewish Journal who is now the national editor of the influential Jewish American online newspaper the Forward, said Trump’s language was a clear signal to his supporters who harbor racist or anti-Semitic views...."
"Racehorse theory “is basically like a forerunner to eugenics theory, which led to the Nazis’ ‘final solution,’” Eshman said after Trump’s Minnesota comments. “It’s one of the least coded messages he has sent.”" 3/4
National security experts describe a distracted and potentially vulnerable country. Notable insights: 1/ washingtonpost.com/national-secur…
@NicholasRasmu15: “I see weakness & division & above all else distractedness...Any problem anywhere else is just a 3rd-or 4th-order problem right now because we are so self-absorbed, inward looking & consumed with our own toxicity. & when you’re distracted, you make mistakes.” 2/
☝️@NicholasRasmu15 is right. Sadly this is an accurate description of not just the last few days, but the last 3 1/2 years.
Thread. As others have said, we can both wish Trump well & hold him accountable for his negligent and reckless behavior that has led to 100K unnecessarily dying and even more millions getting ill. 1/
I pray for the President’s recovery. I also pray (though I think it unlikely) that this experience would humble him & cause him to recognize the mistakes he has made in handling this national emergency. Despite what he has implied, we are still in the middle of this pandemic.2/
Please stop the political tinkering; allow the health and emergency management experts to do their jobs. 3/