If you’ve lived through the last five years and haven’t been forced to medicate yourself to the point of unconsciousness, you’re probably aware that Donald Trump has been very bad for society, on account of the racism and the corruption and the mass casualties and the general, ongoing assault on democracy. Because of that, it would be ideal if neither the 45th president nor his acolytes sat at the seat of power ever again, though, unfortunately, that’s no sure thing. For one thing, Republicans have a shot at flipping the Senate in 2022, and there are a disturbing number of GOP lawmakers there whom Trump has wrapped around his morally bankrupt finger. For another, Trump is reportedly “laying the groundwork” for a 2024 run, and if you recall, 74 million people inexplicably voted for him in 2020, which wasn’t enough to actually win but was a disturbing number nevertheless.
Obviously also at issue is that since Trump lost to Joe Biden, Republicans have responded by attempting to disenfranchise as many Democratic voters as possible. Allies of the former guy have been paving the way to meddle in future elections by passing bills that “allow Republican-controlled state legislatures or election boards to sideline or override local election administrations in Democratic strongholds,” which would, per The Atlantic, let state legislatures or their appointees interfere “in local decision-making, purge voter rolls, and manipulate the number and location of polling places. It would also allow Republicans in Arizona, Georgia, and elsewhere to do something Trump tried and failed to do in 2020: throw out ballots in rival strongholds in order to overturn a statewide result.” Which is bone-chillingly terrifying.
But you know what would be great? If somehow we could wave a magic wand and ensure that none of the people who support Trump or Trump-endorsed candidates show up to vote, which would be a tremendous turn of events for humanity, though one that would clearly never happen unless—what? What’s that you say? Donald Trump has, in an incredible self-own, told his base to stay home and not vote in the next two elections?
Setting aside for a moment the idea of Trump instructing millions of people not to vote, which would have the obvious effect of helping the other side, it’s important to note that Trump is still—still!—clinging to the idea that the 2020 election was stolen and there is a chance it could be overturned and he could be “reinstated” at the White House. That’s extremely scary because, in case anyone missed it the first thousand times, there is absolutely zero evidence that fraud played a role in the last election, despite multiple attempts by conservatives to conduct “audits” of results in battleground states, which have thus far only proven how badly Trump lost.
Nevertheless, we absolutely love the idea of Trump throwing a hissy fit and saying, “Oh yeah? You won’t overturn Joe Biden’s win? My people will show you!” First, because it underscores how very, very stupid he is, and second, because he and his allies have done this in the past and it predictably worked out great for Democrats.
After prominent Trump supporters similarly told Georgia Republicans to sit out the two runoffs in that state late last year, calling it “another rigged election,” voters ended up giving Democrats control of the Senate.
As Kentucky-based GOP strategist Scott Jennings told Politico in January, “That’s on [Trump]. He told them their votes didn’t count, and some of them listened.”
In a sad attempt to spin Trump’s directive as the exact opposite of what he said, GOP rally organizer John Fredericks told The Washington Post he thought Trump was simply warning voters that they need to get more involved to safeguard future elections, an explanation we’re sure the ex-president will blow up by clarifying that no, he specifically meant for people to stay home.
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bierdimpfe on October 15th, 2021 at 02:51 UTC »
This isn't about trump supporters not voting; this is trump telling republicans to fall in line if they want his voters to vote for them
Munkenstein on October 15th, 2021 at 02:13 UTC »
Minus the part where he's once again undermining the legitimacy of our fair elections. It'd be nice if they stayed at home but to them every election he's lost he's "won". Blind ignorance is a badge of honor to these fools.
New_Stats on October 15th, 2021 at 01:58 UTC »
He's telling people in power that they need to rig the elections and ignore the actual voters.
And there's way too many republicans in that position that'll listen