Truthdig
Why Donald Trump Will Continue to Hold Rallies as President
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/why_president_trump_will_continue_to_hol
d_rallies_20161219/
AddThis Sharing Buttons
Share to FacebookShare to TwitterShare to More1
Posted on Dec 19, 2016
By Robert Reich (http://www.truthdig.com/staff/robert_reich) /
RobertReich.org (http://robertreich.org/post/154643782110)
Gage Skidmore (https://www.flickr.com/photos/gageskidmore/) / CC BY-SA 2.0
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/)
Donald Trump has just finished the last of his nine post-election "thank you
tour" rallies. Why did he do them? And why is he planning further rallies
after he becomes president?
One clue is that Trump conducted them only in the states he won. And most
attendees appeared to have voted for him - overwhelmingly white, and many
wearing Trump hats and T-shirts. When warm-up speakers asked how many had
previously attended a Trump rally, most hands went up.
A second clue is that rather than urge followers to bury the hatchet, Trump
wound them up. "It's a movement," he said in Mobile
(http://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Ftime.com%2F4605647%2Fdonald-trum
p-vicious-violent-supporters%2F&t=OGZmYmYzMzI4YzI0YTM1OWZmMGM1ZjUyODIzYTYxMj
BlYzViM2ZkYyxoa1Ewem1YeA%3D%3D&b=t%3AhQ9Ds4P3Iv6D7mgEr8WMqg&p=http%3A%2F%2Fr
obertreich.org%2Fpost%2F154643782110&m=1) , playfully telling the crowd that
in the run-up to the election, "You people were vicious, violent, screaming,
'Where's the wall?' 'We want the wall!' Screaming, 'Prison!' 'Prison!' 'Lock
her up!' I mean, you were going crazy. You were nasty and mean and vicious."
He called his followers "wild beasts."
A third clue: Rather than shift from campaigning to governing, Trump's
post-election rallies were almost identical to the rallies he held when he
was a candidate - the same format, identical pledges ("We will build a great
wall!"), and same condemnations of the "dishonest" media. They also elicited
many of the same audience responses, such as "Lock her up! Lock her up!"
And rather than use the rallies to forgive those who criticized him during
the campaign, he employed them to settle scores - criticizing politicians
who opposed his candidacy, like Ohio Governor John Kasich; blasting media
personalities who predicted he would lose, such as CNN's John King; and
mocking opponents, such as Evan McMullin, the Republican who campaigned
against him as an independent in Utah.
Trump vows to continue these rallies after he becomes president. As he told
the crowd in Mobile
(http://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2Fnews%2F
nationworld%2Fpolitics%2Fct-trump-alabama-rally-20161217-story.html&t=ZDM3OT
lmYWYxZmRmN2ExMzc4MTlkMTU0ZDIzNjhiZWMzNDM1OTlhNCxoa1Ewem1YeA%3D%3D&b=t%3AhQ9
Ds4P3Iv6D7mgEr8WMqg&p=http%3A%2F%2Frobertreich.org%2Fpost%2F154643782110&m=1
) , "They're saying, 'As president, he shouldn't be doing rallies.' But I
think we should, right? We've done everything else the opposite. This is the
way you get an honest word out."
"Get an honest word out?" There's the real tipoff.
Like his non-stop tweets, Trump's purpose in holding these rallies is to
connect directly with a large and enthusiastic base of followers who will
believe what he says - and thereby reject facts from mainstream media,
policy analysts, government agencies that collect data, and the scientific
community.
During his just-completed "thank-you tour," Trump repeatedly claimed, for
example, that the murder rate in the United States is the largest it's been
in 45 years. In fact, it's near a 50-year low
(http://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.factcheck.org%2F2016%2F10%2F
trump-wrong-on-murder-rate%2F&t=OTc2NDJmNjlkNTZlMTc0ZmFiM2Q0ODM2YTZlYzVjOWUw
OThhMGJkZSxoa1Ewem1YeA%3D%3D&b=t%3AhQ9Ds4P3Iv6D7mgEr8WMqg&p=http%3A%2F%2Frob
ertreich.org%2Fpost%2F154643782110&m=1) , according to the FBI.
He also repeatedly said he won the election by a "landslide
(http://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.democracynow.org%2F2016%2F1
2%2F2%2Fheadlines%2Fat_rally_in_cincinnati_trump_repeatedly_attacks_media&t=
ZjVlODlhMjgxYjY3ZGQ5NmEyMWIwMWZjYmZhNWMwODAxNGI0MjFiNyxoa1Ewem1YeA%3D%3D&b=t
%3AhQ9Ds4P3Iv6D7mgEr8WMqg&p=http%3A%2F%2Frobertreich.org%2Fpost%2F1546437821
10&m=1) ," when in fact he lost the popular vote by 2.8 million votes - over
five times Al Gore's margin over George W. Bush in 2000.
And he repeatedly asserted that the election was marred by "massive voting
fraud
(http://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2016%2F11%2F27%2Fp
olitics%2Fdonald-trump-voter-fraud-popular-vote%2F&t=OTgzOTY2NThiZDllOWQ1OGN
kNjRmZTI1YmU3MWQ0NzcwODgyMzkyNyxoa1Ewem1YeA%3D%3D&b=t%3AhQ9Ds4P3Iv6D7mgEr8WM
qg&p=http%3A%2F%2Frobertreich.org%2Fpost%2F154643782110&m=1) ," when in fact
there has been no evidence of voting fraud
(http://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2016%2F12%2F18
%2Fus%2Fvoter-fraud.html%3F_r%3D0&t=NDMxMDg2MjliZDE3ZjZkMGIyMTg5ZWEwNjFjMjU5
MjIyYzI0YTY1OCxoa1Ewem1YeA%3D%3D&b=t%3AhQ9Ds4P3Iv6D7mgEr8WMqg&p=http%3A%2F%2
Frobertreich.org%2Fpost%2F154643782110&m=1) at all (unless you consider the
possibility that Russia hacked into our voting systems - which Trump
dismisses).
A democracy depends on truth. Trump's claims that the murder rate is soaring
may elicit support for policies such as harsher policing and sentencing -
the opposite of what we need. His assertions that he won by a landslide may
give him a mandate he doesn't deserve. His claims of "massive voter fraud"
could legitimize further efforts to suppress votes through rigid ID and
other requirements.
If repeatedly told Muslims are the enemy, the public may support efforts to
monitor them and their places of worship inside America, or even to confine
them. If told that tide of undocumented immigrants is rising (in fact, it's
been falling), the public could get behind draconian policies to keep them
out.
If told to ignore scientific evidence of climate change, the public may
reject efforts to reverse it. If told to disregard CIA reports of Russian
tampering with our elections, the public could become less vigilant about
future tampering.
In short, the rallies and tweets give Trump an unprecedented platform for
telling Big Lies without fear of contradiction - and therefore for advancing
whatever agenda he wishes.
It's no coincidence that Trump continues to denigrate the media, and hasn't
held a news conference since July.
A president intent on developing a base of enthusiastic supporters who
believe boldface lies poses a clear threat to American democracy. This is
how tyranny begins.
'Live at Truthdig': How Can Compassion Bring America Together?
Russian Ambassador's Assassination May Strengthen the Erdogan-Putin
Relationship
Samantha Bee: Democrats, Stop Focusing on the National Election and Start
Working on Local Elections
Russell Brand on How the War on Drugs Was a Way to Vilify and Control
Truthdig: Drilling Beneath the Headlines
C 2016 Truthdig, LLC. All rights reserved.
Signup for Truthdig's newsletter
