Thread by @jengolbeck

Monday morning check-in on pro-Trump social media.
For those worried: the overall tone is increasingly one of resignation OR hope that some external forces will keep Trump in office. There is no organization of protests, rallies, or violence. This is good.

BUT… 1/

…the situation is very precarious. As I said on Friday, they are looking to Trump for guidance. He's been largely silent, which is good, but there is civil war-level anger among many supporters. If Trump were to call for it, I think many would take up arms 2/

His followers feel like victims. The poor white males… 3/

Some are starting to realize they don't really have a play here 4/

Others still think it's all going to be ok for them. These are the Trust the Plan / QAnon types. More on this a bit later in the thread… 5/

They are starting to think about civil disobedience. While many still deny Trump supporters had anything to do with the insurrection at the capitol, they also can see that what happened there did not help their cause. They don't quite get what civil disobedience means, though 6/

But some do. I'm not sure they can claim these are "creative" ideas, though. Where have I heard this and seen it used before???? 7/

Let's jump into the murky QAnon end of this pool. I cannot restate enough that Q supporters believe a Satan-worshiping cannibalistic pedophilic cabal of child sex traffickers is running government & the media & that Trump is going to arrest them all in The Storm

Time is short
8/

Some of the Q-types are getting nervous. Glimmers of reality are starting to break through to some of them, but they are not ready yet 9/

For those who still Trust the Plan, there are only 3 days left. When will The Storm happen? Many say tomorrow (1/19)
Why?
Because it's National Popcorn Day, of course!
Really.
The guy claiming to be Q has made some popcorn references in the past. This is enough to be a sign 10/

The National Popcorn Day talk is highly prevalent in these forums and it's really just because Q has said "enjoy the popcorn" before. These guys love memes, so they certainly have seen these. But they look VERY DEEP for signs 11/

Others believe it will come right down to the wire. They hate John Roberts now and want him arrested, too. So they think if he inaugurates Biden, then he will have Crimes because he swore in a fraudulently-elected president, and THEN we can arrest them all 12/

I admit I do not totally understand how Trump remains president if this scenario were to play out, as the Constitution could not be more clear about when his term ends, but 🤷‍♀️
Also, note the militia language in that last post. We are on the precipice of violence everywhere 13/

Some Trump-supporters are ditching Q, though. It's taken a while, but some have seen enough (or not seen anything as the case may be). 14/

What is the path back for the Q-adherents after Inauguration? My academic specialty is not cults, but I read a lot about them. So much of Q world smacks of cult. When Biden is sworn in, for many, they will suddenly see they have dedicated years to a lie. How do we manage that? 15

I don't have the answers nor a lot of sympathy, but I know it is important. There are people with expertise in this topic who know better than me. For now, I remain focused on the immediate threat of violence and continue to hope Trump remains silent for the next 3 days 16/