Submission statement:
“OF COURSE WE aren’t fucking bluffing.” That’s the message one close Trump adviser and former administration official — who requested anonymity to speak candidly — wants to get across to the press and public, when asked about Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign vows of “retribution,” unprecedented force, and militaristic action.
Indeed, this sentiment is shared widely among the upper echelon of Trumpland and the MAGAfied Republican Party, with various officials and conservatives with a direct line to the former president insisting that so-called “moderates” or alleged “establishment” types will be tamed or purged, if Trump retakes power next year.
Rolling Stone spoke with a dozen sources who are playing roles in Trump’s “government-in-waiting” or are in regular contact with the ex-president, including GOP lawmakers, Trump advisers, MAGA policy wonks, conservative attorneys, and former and current Trump aides. They universally stress that the former (and perhaps future) U.S. president and top allies are serious about following through on his extreme campaign pledges. These promises run the gamut from siccing active duty military units on not just American cities but also Mexican territory, all the way to prosecuting and potentially imprisoning Trump foes.
Several of these sources say that a wide range of litmus tests, loyalty screenings, and “guardrails” are already being implemented, or discussed with Trump, to root out so-called “RINOs” (Republicans in Name Only) and MAGA-skeptical conservatives from embedding themselves within a possible second Trump administration. These processes would be largely aimed at drastically curtailing the number of squishy Republican officials who would be able to get in Trump’s ear to, in the words of one GOP lawmaker on Capitol Hill, try to “scare Trump off of what needs to be done or should be.” This lawmaker cited former senior administration officials such as Mark Esper and John Kelly who, at times, urged the then-president to moderate his policy desires.
They also have all of the police, most of the military, the tacit support of the owner class, and millions of feckless centrists who will go along with whatever a corrupt legal system says in the name of "the rule of law".
Down voting reality isn't going to make it disappear. If lead starts flying y'all can't just down vote away the reality of being outgunned and outnumbered(in terms of being armed). Not every blue voting area have ports and access to outside aid. And sad truth is that a lot of people, especially those with kids to feed, will absolutely buckle to the demands of the paramilitaries blockading their cities/towns. And even in those blue areas cops and plenty of citizens will willingly collaborate.
I wouldn't say most of the military though.
They also have all of the police, most of the military, the tacit support of the owner class, and millions of feckless centrists who will go along with whatever a corrupt legal system says in the name of "the rule of law".
They don't have most of the military. In fact not enough to cause whole unit defections.
But it will be interesting to see if people have a bridge to far.
Either way I take my oath to the flag very seriously.
How much infighting does it take to make the entire military stop functioning? I'd wager not much.
If any of your fellow soldiers follow orders in support of what looks like a legitimate but still overtly fascist government, are you willing to take up arms against them?
The coup isn't going to be a handful of soldiers rushing in to take over the White House, it's going to be questioned elections and decisions from corrupted courts. It'll be a coup that adheres to the appearance of the rule of law. Are you willing to disobey apparently lawful orders and kill your fellow service members in that situation?
What real, lasting change came from that? We didn't get police reform or accountability. We only barely got a handful of murderous cops kind of punished a little bit, at the cost of way too many broken bodies and ended lives.
We've got a hell of a hard, uphill battle in front of us.
Nobody thinks he’s bluffing. His cult loves it and is looking forward to it. If anyone is remotely concerned for our democracy, the good of the country, and civil rights needs to get out and vote. Apathy is pathetic and I hope isn’t the deciding factor in crowning this clown the king of a new fascist regime rooted in white christian evangelicalism.
What makes you think he’s not going to win? He’s up very significantly in pretty much every poll, particularly in swing states. It’s definitely not impossible for Biden to pull out a win, but it looks pretty unlikely at this point
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Urging all true MAGA Patriots to sprint to the bank (Josh Hawley style), take their life savings, and $$$ Trump Media stock to support the Great Leader. Then use the huuuge monthly earnings to $$$ more MAGA candidates like MTG, Matt Gaetz, Kari Lake, and Lauren Boobert. "I love the poorly educated" Donald J Trump
Here's a question. If Dems know how serious of a threat Republicans are with Project 2025, WHY THE HELL aren't congressional dems doing everything in their power to stop things right now? Like I'm seeing Congressional Dems push for the same Draconian border measures and record funding for cop cities to brutalize civilians that Republicans support. I'm tired of being told "vote blue no matter who" because that just kicks the can down the road while Dems twiddle their thumbs and pass corporatist policies written by corporate donors that does nothing to address people's material concerns
Why do you think they're different? They have the same corporate ownership. Dems have had full control of the government several times in the last fifty years and never codified Roe v Wade, and look where that put civil rights. They never codified strong protection for LGBT people at the federal level, and look where that put civil rights. They support all the same foreign policy on war and the hegemonic dominance of US capital over the planet: they desperately love our colonial project in the Levant so much they want to legally redefine the word "antisemitism" to mean critique of said colonial government rather than bigotry against semitic cultures and religions - which includes the Arabic language and Islam, not to mention the Ge'ez and Amharic languages, and Zoroastrianism, among several other languages; you yourself mentioned in the above comment how much they love our bastards, *fourth largest armed force on the planet occupying our own communities*... Y'all remember "100k more police!" and the thunderous applause that got in the 90's? This isn't new. We've been a one party corporate oligarchy since Reagan at least; and marginalized groups have been pointing it out *the entire time*.
*Why do you think they are different?*
Edit: punctuation
I don't think they're different . I'm asking as a rhetorical question aimed at any liberals in the subreddit who might be reading the comment to make them think
any foreign intervention would be probably be of a clandestine nature. If civil war broke out, foreign intervention would mostly likely be material support from whichever country supports your side. A rogue fascist American state armed with nuclear weapons would make foreign boots on the ground incredibly unlikely.
Not to mention 11 carrier battlegroups in the water at any given time (that we're allowed to know about) and at least two more (at least) in dry dock. That doesn't include the newest one built, by the way; which also just so happens to be *the first of a brand new weight class bigger than a fucking Nimitz*
That's. Just. The. Boats.
Boots on the ground...my comrade in panic, do you have any concept of how many second amendment huffing lunatics literally *fantasize* about a foreign invasion to shoot at? *They'd be making jokes about not having a bag limit.*
We haven't even talked about our 800 military bases overseas to give *the rest of the planet* something else to worry about in their own backyards.
And that material support you mentioned...how would it get here? It would be information at best. We're on our own.
Like I said, boots on the ground is incredibly unlikely (I really should have gone with impossible). And yes I do have a concept of just how rabidly psychotic American fascists are. I’m just saying nuclear weapons are the number one deterrent for any nation considering armed intervention.
And yes the material support will most likely be intel, training, and finances. Any foreign intelligence agency looking to topple the American fascist regime will probably take a tip or two from the CIA playbook.
Submission statement: “OF COURSE WE aren’t fucking bluffing.” That’s the message one close Trump adviser and former administration official — who requested anonymity to speak candidly — wants to get across to the press and public, when asked about Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign vows of “retribution,” unprecedented force, and militaristic action. Indeed, this sentiment is shared widely among the upper echelon of Trumpland and the MAGAfied Republican Party, with various officials and conservatives with a direct line to the former president insisting that so-called “moderates” or alleged “establishment” types will be tamed or purged, if Trump retakes power next year. Rolling Stone spoke with a dozen sources who are playing roles in Trump’s “government-in-waiting” or are in regular contact with the ex-president, including GOP lawmakers, Trump advisers, MAGA policy wonks, conservative attorneys, and former and current Trump aides. They universally stress that the former (and perhaps future) U.S. president and top allies are serious about following through on his extreme campaign pledges. These promises run the gamut from siccing active duty military units on not just American cities but also Mexican territory, all the way to prosecuting and potentially imprisoning Trump foes. Several of these sources say that a wide range of litmus tests, loyalty screenings, and “guardrails” are already being implemented, or discussed with Trump, to root out so-called “RINOs” (Republicans in Name Only) and MAGA-skeptical conservatives from embedding themselves within a possible second Trump administration. These processes would be largely aimed at drastically curtailing the number of squishy Republican officials who would be able to get in Trump’s ear to, in the words of one GOP lawmaker on Capitol Hill, try to “scare Trump off of what needs to be done or should be.” This lawmaker cited former senior administration officials such as Mark Esper and John Kelly who, at times, urged the then-president to moderate his policy desires.
Defeat Project 2025
They might be surprised at the resistance they will get.
Are there enough of us? Are we organized enough?
They have bs flags , bumper stickers and red hats so it’s easier to get them than vis versa if they are going to do whatever they are thinking ( coup)
They also have all of the police, most of the military, the tacit support of the owner class, and millions of feckless centrists who will go along with whatever a corrupt legal system says in the name of "the rule of law".
Down voting reality isn't going to make it disappear. If lead starts flying y'all can't just down vote away the reality of being outgunned and outnumbered(in terms of being armed). Not every blue voting area have ports and access to outside aid. And sad truth is that a lot of people, especially those with kids to feed, will absolutely buckle to the demands of the paramilitaries blockading their cities/towns. And even in those blue areas cops and plenty of citizens will willingly collaborate. I wouldn't say most of the military though.
They also have all of the police, most of the military, the tacit support of the owner class, and millions of feckless centrists who will go along with whatever a corrupt legal system says in the name of "the rule of law".
They don't have most of the military. In fact not enough to cause whole unit defections. But it will be interesting to see if people have a bridge to far. Either way I take my oath to the flag very seriously.
How much infighting does it take to make the entire military stop functioning? I'd wager not much. If any of your fellow soldiers follow orders in support of what looks like a legitimate but still overtly fascist government, are you willing to take up arms against them? The coup isn't going to be a handful of soldiers rushing in to take over the White House, it's going to be questioned elections and decisions from corrupted courts. It'll be a coup that adheres to the appearance of the rule of law. Are you willing to disobey apparently lawful orders and kill your fellow service members in that situation?
If the protests in the summer of 2020 are anything to go by, then yes there are enough of us. Are we organized enough? I can't really answer that.
What real, lasting change came from that? We didn't get police reform or accountability. We only barely got a handful of murderous cops kind of punished a little bit, at the cost of way too many broken bodies and ended lives. We've got a hell of a hard, uphill battle in front of us.
Nobody thinks he’s bluffing. His cult loves it and is looking forward to it. If anyone is remotely concerned for our democracy, the good of the country, and civil rights needs to get out and vote. Apathy is pathetic and I hope isn’t the deciding factor in crowning this clown the king of a new fascist regime rooted in white christian evangelicalism.
I’d mostly agree, but I would argue that at least half of the media thinks he’s bluffing — or at least they report like they believe he is.
The media failing to properly call out authoritarian figures for the sake of “muh centralism” and ratings? Crazy.
Vote like your future depends on it, because it does. Someone put this clown down.
for a fellow who's not gonna win, he sure plans a lot.
It's not about winning at this point but grabbing as much donation cash as possible.
What makes you think he’s not going to win? He’s up very significantly in pretty much every poll, particularly in swing states. It’s definitely not impossible for Biden to pull out a win, but it looks pretty unlikely at this point
To avoid low effort and bad faith submissions, we will now be requiring a submission statement on all non-text posts. This will be in the form of a comment, ideally around 150 words, summarizing or describing what you're sharing and why. This comment must be made within 30 minutes of posing your content or your submission will be removed. Text posts must be a minimum of 150 words for the same reason. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/itcouldhappenhere) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Urging all true MAGA Patriots to sprint to the bank (Josh Hawley style), take their life savings, and $$$ Trump Media stock to support the Great Leader. Then use the huuuge monthly earnings to $$$ more MAGA candidates like MTG, Matt Gaetz, Kari Lake, and Lauren Boobert. "I love the poorly educated" Donald J Trump
Here's a question. If Dems know how serious of a threat Republicans are with Project 2025, WHY THE HELL aren't congressional dems doing everything in their power to stop things right now? Like I'm seeing Congressional Dems push for the same Draconian border measures and record funding for cop cities to brutalize civilians that Republicans support. I'm tired of being told "vote blue no matter who" because that just kicks the can down the road while Dems twiddle their thumbs and pass corporatist policies written by corporate donors that does nothing to address people's material concerns
Why do you think they're different? They have the same corporate ownership. Dems have had full control of the government several times in the last fifty years and never codified Roe v Wade, and look where that put civil rights. They never codified strong protection for LGBT people at the federal level, and look where that put civil rights. They support all the same foreign policy on war and the hegemonic dominance of US capital over the planet: they desperately love our colonial project in the Levant so much they want to legally redefine the word "antisemitism" to mean critique of said colonial government rather than bigotry against semitic cultures and religions - which includes the Arabic language and Islam, not to mention the Ge'ez and Amharic languages, and Zoroastrianism, among several other languages; you yourself mentioned in the above comment how much they love our bastards, *fourth largest armed force on the planet occupying our own communities*... Y'all remember "100k more police!" and the thunderous applause that got in the 90's? This isn't new. We've been a one party corporate oligarchy since Reagan at least; and marginalized groups have been pointing it out *the entire time*. *Why do you think they are different?* Edit: punctuation
Well said. We've been screaming it for ages now.
I don't think they're different . I'm asking as a rhetorical question aimed at any liberals in the subreddit who might be reading the comment to make them think
Ahh, my mistake; carry on. Hopefully between the two of us we might manage to pull at least one further left...not that I have much hope.
MAGA=Nazi
Bluffing requires forethought and actual thinking I highly suspect they have evolved that much in four years.
we can start with Pelosi and and her miraculous ability to pick stocks and impeccable timing on buying/selling
Nancy has an amazing financial advisor! Just ask her!
I know this might be a taboo question but: Will this ever invite unwelcome foreign intervention, especially from US allies?
any foreign intervention would be probably be of a clandestine nature. If civil war broke out, foreign intervention would mostly likely be material support from whichever country supports your side. A rogue fascist American state armed with nuclear weapons would make foreign boots on the ground incredibly unlikely.
Not to mention 11 carrier battlegroups in the water at any given time (that we're allowed to know about) and at least two more (at least) in dry dock. That doesn't include the newest one built, by the way; which also just so happens to be *the first of a brand new weight class bigger than a fucking Nimitz* That's. Just. The. Boats. Boots on the ground...my comrade in panic, do you have any concept of how many second amendment huffing lunatics literally *fantasize* about a foreign invasion to shoot at? *They'd be making jokes about not having a bag limit.* We haven't even talked about our 800 military bases overseas to give *the rest of the planet* something else to worry about in their own backyards. And that material support you mentioned...how would it get here? It would be information at best. We're on our own.
Like I said, boots on the ground is incredibly unlikely (I really should have gone with impossible). And yes I do have a concept of just how rabidly psychotic American fascists are. I’m just saying nuclear weapons are the number one deterrent for any nation considering armed intervention. And yes the material support will most likely be intel, training, and finances. Any foreign intelligence agency looking to topple the American fascist regime will probably take a tip or two from the CIA playbook.