Since the beginning of the Donald Trump campaign for president, he has encouraged his supporters to resort to violence. The more radical supporters seem inclined to listen.
At one time he told a crowd full of his people that they should punch detractors in the face, saying that in the old days they would be carried out on a stretcher. It wasn’t sarcasm. I seriously doubt Trump doesn’t understands that many of his supporters are not very bright and on top of that, are given to act in a violent manner — without Trump‘s encouragement. One suppoter actually did punch a protester in the face, as we all saw on television. When Trump says punch them in the face, radical supporters will do just that, because that is what they are inclined to do in the first place.
His supporters believed reporters were dishonest and traitors before Trump told them. Now, after repeatedly demeaning all reporters, many of his throng are inclined to mistreat reporters. Katie Tur, a reporter assigned to the Trump campaign by MSNBC reports being so frightened one day she needed the Secret Service to help her get to her car. We all saw that ridiculous Trump supporter on TV, poke his finger at a reporter saying “I’m a patriot, you’re a traitor.”
Trump says the press is “rigged”, whatever that means. Rigged has become one of Trump’s favorite words. The Republican primary was “rigged.” Our government is “rigged.” If he loses the election it will be because the election is “rigged.” Baloney.
Given the mindset of the Trump’s more radical supporters, it is scary what they might do. So when Trump suggested a Second Amendment solution by some of his followers to prevent Hillary Clinton, should she get elected from appointing Supreme Court judges? I was shocked. This is a very serious and dangerous statement by Trump. House Speaker Paul Ryan suggested it was just a bad joke gone bad. Joke? Is he serious? Assassination is not something you joke about. Sarcasm or not, to suggest assassination as a solution is downright crazy.
Trump completely distorted Clinton’s position on the Second Amendment before his comments about Second Amendment solutions. Clinton doesn’t want to abolish the Second Amendment nor appoint judges who will. She supports the right to bear arms. What she wants is what 80 percent or better, of all Americans want. She supports expanded background checks, closing the gun show loophole, and banning gun sales to those on the no fly list. She wants to keep guns out of the hands of terrorists, the mentally ill, and of course, felons and ex-cons. I am terrified at what some unhinged Trumps supporter might do when Hillary is elected.
Trump is now seriously claiming that President Obama and Secretary Hillary Clinton are founders of ISIS. This was not sarcasm as his campaign now claims. He was deadly serious and said it over and over last week. This is absolutely ridiculous, Obama and Hilllary both want to wipe out the so-called Islamic State.
The continued misspeaks, to put it mildly, by Trump has at least 70 GOP leaders asking the RNC to stop funding the Trump campaign. The straw that broke the camels back, was Trumps’ attack on the Muslim mother of a slain American war hero. Now Shawn Hannity of FOX is attacking the Khan family as actually being for establishing Sharia law in the United States. This family is as American as they come. They point out toHannity that establishing Sharia law in the United States is forbidden by the Constitution, which Mr. Khan carries with him. Hannity should be ashamed.
Trump came out with his economic plan which is more of the same old trickle down economics with a few twist. He wants family child care to be tax deductible. That is the only thing that sounds pretty good, but it is extremely costly and maybe unconstitutional. What is more of the same, and then some, is his proposed tax cuts for the most wealthy. If you believe what he says about his income, Trump will give himself a $4 billion tax cut.
Of course since he probably doesn’t pay any federal income tax who knows what cuts he will get. He must release his income tax records. It’s baloney that he can’t release them because he is being audited. That has absolutely nothing to do with releasing records as has all previous candidates for president for the last upteen years.
Glen McAdoo, a Fallon resident, can be contacted at glen@phonewave.net.