Thread by @JeffSharlet

Trump opening post-indictment speech today: "Together we stand up to the globalists, we stand up to the Marxists." Historically, this is hate speech for "Jews." A subtle move, feeding outright Jew-haters & broadening their conspiracy theories to all his enemies. 1/

"We stand up to the open border fanatics and... the lawless prosecutors... in blue states," Trump continues. Much as Nixon used "heroin" & "marijuana" to mean Blacks and hippies, Trump means brown & Black people. But he also knows he's making inroads w/ them, so... 2/

Trump uses this kind of code for Jews, Latinx, and Black people to distinguish between "good" ones & "bad" ones, holding out to the "good" ones what @AntheaButler calls "the promise of whiteness," assimilation into the fascist borg of privilege. 3/

Trump says unnamed "sinister" forces stronger than all external enemies combined trying to destroy America. "From within is worse than without"--said every fascist leader, ever. 4/

(Brief interruption: I'm watching Trump's 1st post-indictment speech, 1st Trump speech I've watched since I finished writing THE UNDERTOW last year, because, well, the situation is tense. I think I'm back on the beat. Media orgs that fund this kind of work: Put me in, coach.) 5/

(What I'm *not* going to do is platform Trump--just say, gosh, look what he said! I'll only comment if I think I have something I think I can add from my 20 years of reporting on the RIght.) 6/

"We will take back this country from these fascists & thugs," says Trump. Several rhetorical moves here: "thugs" does double duty: In Trumpish, it means both Black people & "bad" labor, the kind that doesn't vote Trump. "Fascists" is coming to mean for Trump queer folks. 7/

"Afghanistan... one of largest exporters of arms," says Trump. Not true. (1. US. 2. Russia 3. France. Etc.) So what? One of my arguments in THE UNDERTOW is that you can't factcheck a myth. But you can interpret it. Trump's invoking the fascist "stabbed in the back" myth here. 8/

The "stabbed-in-the-back" myth--dolchstoßlegende, in German--began after WWI when German rightists decided that Jewish Germans, many of them socialists, undermined Germany, causing it to lose the war. Wiki's not bad here. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stab-in-t… 9/

(Commenter below says he "really wants to hear [Trump] explain what Marxism means." Of course, he can't. That's the joke. But so, too, most political journalists have nothing but Schindler's List grasp of what fascism is. & that, too, tragically for democracy, is "the joke." 10/)

The cadence w/ which he delivers this sequence is--speaking of witches--like D&D spell he uses to shield himself from fact. Bad magic, but damn, it is magic, intended subtly to be understood as such--to say, a la mentors Roy Cohn & Norman Vincent Peale--"i make the world." 11/

"FBI offered $1 mil for a fictitious dossier." Trump means Steele. Doesn't name him. Makes it seem current. FBI allegedly offered $1 mil to *prove* dossier. No payment. What matters? Ask Dr. Evil. 12/ media.giphy.com/media/sEULHciN…

I didn't embed GIF properly! Sorry. Point was Trump's "$1 *million* dollars" was, for the base, a kind of fairytale number, simultaneously small & vast, absurd, like Dr. Evil's demand. It signals Trump's wealth--sold for 30 pieces of silver--and speaks to the base's longing. 13/

Trump invokes the Steele dossier, which he says was an attempt to convict him of "treason," to connect it in base's mind with indictments. That way, stolen documents are no more serious than the charge that he paid sex workers to pee on a bed. Silly! Beside the point. 14/

Oh, this is new to me: "Impeachment Number 2," says Trump, "the censorship of the Hunter Biden laptop." I didn't know there was a narrative by which that's what the Jan 6 impeachment was about. 15/

Trump: "We're beating the hell out of the Republicans, we're beating the hill out of Biden." Reminds me of 2016 rallies when second biggest "boo" name, after Hillary, was Bush. Pay attention: Trump runs against both parties. 16/

Now Trump going after federal law enforcement. Pundits cry, "contradiction! Are you for 'law & order' or law enforcement?" Fascism says, YES. The paradox is the point. Fascism says "yes, and." 17/

Fascism continued: "Our people are angry." Not "the people"; "OUR people." &: "Sometimes you need strength. More than normal strength." The repetition's obvious; but note also escalation. "More than normal strength" "to get a change." He's saying, we may have to break rules. 18/

Trump claims when he left the White House there were lots of open boxes of documents just sitting around on the sidewalk outside. Remember: #cantfactcheckmyth. Easy to say, Nope. Trickier to figure out how this lie works. 19/

Here it is: "Next thing I know, Mar-a-Lago raided by GUN"--emphasizes, pauses--"TOTING"--pauses, lets crowd think "thugs"--"FBI agents." So, 1st "open" boxes on sidewalk--total innocence--then gunmen--total persecution. Trump knows the martyr myth. 20/

Trump outdoing Fox News, claiming China paid Biden $1 million a year to steal documents. I have no interpretation for this, actually. It's just pretty much right there: Calling Biden a Manchurian candidate. 21/

"Jack Smith. Does anyone know what his name used to be? Sounds so innocent." Trump's played this routine before, but it must be called out every time. It's undiluted antisemitism, & worse: The name sounds white. But how can a real white man be "against" Trump? 22/

Jack Smith, claims Trump, "caused" the IRS to "go after evangelicals, Christians, great Americans of faith." Get the antisemitism? Jack Smith, who must have changed his name must be a Jewish enemy of Christianity. (He's neither, far as I can tell.) 23/

Jack Smith, continues Trump, made Christians "pay dearly" to the IRS. Jack Smith, he's saying, took his pound of flesh. This is classical antisemitism, in a speech that began with attacks on "globalists" and "Marxists." 24/

Why might Trump be doubling down on antisemitism (besides lifelong soft bigotry)? Because, it pains me as a Jew to say, he knows there are just enough rightwing Jews, including Stephen Miller, to provide him plausible deniability. 25/

A bit of good news: seems like Trump's advisors aren't letting him "be Trump." Teleprompter speech is Trumpier, but he's sticking to it instead of his rhetorical strength, improv. And his hands, normally a major part of his oratorical power, are gripping the podium. 26/

Now Trump comes round to white power. "You know, Atlanta is about one of the most dangerous cities in America." In fact, '22 2nd lowest yr on record (see below). But #cantfactcheckmyth. What Trump means is that Atlanta is one of the Blackest big cities. 27/

Trump says "people" are leaving Atlanta "in droves." Repeats it. In fact, Atlanta's growing. But by people, he means *white* people. In act, even that population is growing. What he means is "our people," *his* people, city-hating people. 28/

Now comes "beautiful Marjorie," the only pol of the many in attendance he's name-checked he invites to the stage, to huge applause. Then he stands behind her like so. I don't think this image requires comment.
29/

Trump used to use a kind of fascist sketch comedy in his speeches, as I write in The Undertow. Routines like "The Snake" & "The Bullet." But he peddles grievance, & now he's using the product. He still does characters, but it's all "autobiographical"--and duller. 30/

"Either they win or we win," says Trump. Says it twice. It is, of course, technically correct. Trump wins, or people opposed to him win. But by "they" & "we" at odds, Trump's speaking in terms of what Robert O. Paxton in Anatomy of Fascism calls "the primacy of the group." 31/

"Either the communists win, destroy America"--Trump pauses, lets that sink in--"or we destroy them." Audience member cheers. This is what they come for, the Trump rally staple that's been lacking in this speech so far: violence, eliminationism. 32/

If you didn't know violent speech's a staple of Trump rallies, that's because most campaign reporters dismiss it as "just theater." His descriptions of disembowelment, decapitation & rape allegedly suffered by "our people" is theater. Dangerous theater, no "just" about it. 33/

As dangerous as when Trump describes the violence he wants "my people" to inflict--on protesters, on "animals," on Muslim enemies. "It's a beautiful thing," he says. "The beauty of violence," as fascism historian Robert O. Paxton writes. 34/

"Them." Those "we"--"our people," the "good people," "my people"--must "destroy." "Communists. Because that's what they are. They may go by different names. Fascists. Marxists." By using the f-word, the goal is to make it meaningless--so centrists won't use it for him. 35/

"I stand before you today as the only candidate who has what it takes to smash this corrupt system." Remember "I alone can fix it?" Paxton on fascism: "a national chief who alone is capable of incarnating the group's destiny." 36/

Trump equates prostitution with human trafficking then claims to have gotten both to a historic low. Ending sex work is new rhetoric for him, & in keeping w/ fascism's obsession w/ "decadence," virility, & as Dr. Strangelove put it, "our precious bodily fluids." 37/

The American ammo roller coaster: In 2016, Trump falsely claimed military was almost out of ammo. Under him, he said, more bullets than ever before. Now, back to "almost none." Don't scoff at the yo-yo: Con artists know you can always go back to the well. 38/

Back to Dr. Strangelove: "I am the only candidate who can make this promise: I will prevent WW III. And without me, it WILL happen." Huge cheers. They believe this. The apocalypse & the salvation. When Trump calls '24 "the final battle," this is what believers hear. 39/

"Obliteration of the entire world. I will prevent it. NOBODY else can say that." Political reporters will either ignore this or dismiss it as hyperbole about his alleged diplomatic prowess. Which is to say, political reporters will miss the point: This is a divinity claim. 40/

Interesting. From literally saving the world from "obliteration" Trump pivots to promise to restructure DOJ to "investigate every radical DA in America for their illegal racist & reverse enforcement." Crowd cheers USA! USA! Might as well be chanting "White Power!" 41/

Claims other countries our "emptying insane asylums" into U.S. Good thing I watched John Carpenter's Prince of Darkness last night so I get what he's doing. He's escalating from "bad hombre" to "mad man," from "animals" to "monsters," from MS-13 to psycho killers. 42/

This is my first Trump speech since I finished The Undertow last year, so maybe this a new staple: full police and military mobilization to "carry out the largest domestic deportation in U.S. history." In fascist terms, a double duty pledge: purity & militarization. 43/

I was aware of Trump's promise to end birthright citizenship, but since I hadn't watched a speech in a long time I didn't know about the body language with which he makes it, the arched brow, pursed lip & the relish w/ which he speaks of the "children" to be denied. 44/

Pledges day 1 exec order to end federal funding for any school w/ CRT, "transgender insanity"--HUGE cheers--"& other inappropriate racial, sexual, political content." "I will keep MEN out of women's sports." HUGE cheers. Trump follows the crowd. This will loom larger for him. 45/

All I had to do was wait for the next sentence: Promises to sign a federal law forbidding gender-affirming care. Wld he actually do this? Or wld it be like infrastructure week & wall-that-wasn't? I suspect he wld--it costs nothing, & he keeps Christian nationalists happy. 46/

Less school, less medicine. & more guns: national "concealed carry reciprocity," which amounts to nationalized concealed carry. I think of a militia man who menaced me in Omaha, & his seemingly unarmed colleague: "How do you know I don't have a gun?" The American question. 47/

What will these guns be for? "This is the final battle. We will demolish the communists, the fascists, the Marxists, whatever you want to call them." The enemy. His enemies. The final battle. This is deeply theological. And very scary. 48/

Trump ending his speech w/ the antisemitism w/ which he began: "We will drive out the globalists, we will cast out the communists." *Cast out.* Such phrasing equates Trump w/ Christ; it's also a staple of antisemitism. 49/

Phew. That's it. Damn. I've reported a LOT of Trump speeches, & I did not expect this. This is a major escalation of hate, both in tone and with what passes in Trumpland for policy specifics. Media's calling it "fiery"; I'd call it, for Trump, focused. 50/

I didn't cover the extensive portions about DeSantis, for two reasons. One, I have less doubt now than ever that Trump's on pace to sweep it. Two, I don't care about the "race." What was on display tonight in Georgia & every day now in Florida is fascism. 51/

In an awful way, I'm glad I watched the speech. Now I know: Trump is worse & he's not weak. I've been debating w/ myself about covering him again. I mean, ugh. But now I know: UGH. & yet, I think it's all hands on deck to stop his return. END.