In interviews in Iowa leading up to the caucus vote on January 15, 2024, discussions involved fears of WWIII and Civil War II. A New York Times article covering the event was titled “On the Ballot in Iowa: Fear. Anxiety. Hopelessness.” Bill Bradley, a former NJ senator who ran for the Democratic nomination in Iowa in 2000, remembered his time in that state. Back then they debated health care and taxes; today it is a more violent story.
The lead Republican candidate was doing his campaigning outside courtrooms away from Iowa as he defended himself against 91 felony counts across two state courts and two federal districts and civil trials in New York. The violence and threats of violence are real. The mob boss who would be president (again), uses outright threats and thinly veiled threats against all those he perceives as enemies.
His own party fears him, not politically as might have been the case years ago, but they fear for their personal safety and the safety of their loved ones. Bulletproof vests and private security details must be considered for any who dare to speak ill of the man who would be king. Judges and prosecutors and their staff have become targets of the minions within Trump’s evil empire. He survived his second impeachment vote partly because Republicans feared reprisals from his supporters. One commented that, had the ballot been secret, he might have been found guilty.
Ten Republican House Representatives did brave the wrath of Trump and voted to impeach him for his role in the insurrection of January 6th. The House vote was 232 to 197. He was impeached and the case went to the Senate. While the majority of the Senate voted to impeach, the count was 57 guilty to 43 not guilty, they needed 67 guilty votes to impeach (he had already unwillingly left office). Seven Republican Senators had voted for his conviction.
Since that House impeachment vote on January 13, two Representatives (Gonzalez-Ohio, Kinzinger-Illinois) who voted to impeach were forced to announce retirements after death threats from Trump supporters. Liz Cheney lost her seat as the House Republican Chair in a behind-closed-door meeting with no recorded vote. She was then ousted from the Wyoming Republican Party. She was also censured by the RNC for investigating the Capitol assault because they deemed January 6, 2021, “legitimate political discourse.” Apparently, Cheney’s political discourse was not deemed legitimate.
Others who also voted to impeach are now facing the wrath of Trump with challenges to their tenure with Trump endorsements to rivals for their jobs and, those not up for election, have been silenced. Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican leader discussing the January 6th insurrection claimed that Trump was, “practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day.” He later did an about-face and actively worked on Trump’s acquittal on impeachment charges. Was the fear of Trump the reason for this change of heart?
Why all the fear? Just ask Paul Pelosi, the 82-year-old husband of Nancy Pelosi. One of the Trump faithful, indoctrinated by Trump conspiracy claims of a stolen election, beat the elderly Pelosi with a hammer and put him in the hospital. A 2020 study by ABC News found 54 cases of violence, threats, and assaults where Trump was claimed to be the inspiration. A review of over 500 federally prosecuted cases for menacing behavior against public servants showed a 178% increase during Trump’s presidency.
The former president doesn’t have to do any of the dirty work himself. The mere hint that he is displeased with someone or doesn’t like what they are doing is enough to inspire violence against that person. In true mob boss fashion, he uses “sleep with the fishes” type hints that provide just enough vagary to avoid direct connection with any legal fallout. Even those directly connected with Trump, like Rudy Giuliani, have such power by proxy. Rudy just suggested that two election workers were “swapping USB ports” to rig the election and they were hounded and threatened with violence.
Trump, as capo di tutti i capi (boss of all bosses), commands an army of underbosses, and soldiers. In this mob, there are no “made” men as everyone is expendable, except the “don.” They are all “volunteers” in this army as it is also a cult and loyalty is a one-way street. Even those he hires are likely to be left wanting if they try to get paid. Trump is notoriously tight-fisted with his own money. Some, like Sidney Powell, are true nut jobs. These people blindly follow his bidding, perhaps hoping some of his wealth and fame will fall their way.
Throughout the “reign of Trump,” we have heard comparisons with mobsters and mob jargon. Trump himself likened the plight of Paul Manafort to Alfonse Capone. Roger Stone said he would never “roll on Donald Trump.” Trump’s former attorney, Jay Goldberg compared Michael Cohen to Sammy “The Bull” Gravano who brought down Gotti. Trump was worried that Cohen would “flip.” Trump himself has been compared to John Gotti, “The Teflon Don,” who got acquittals in three big trials that had been influenced by jury tampering, juror misconduct, and witness intimidation. While Gotti eventually died of throat cancer in prison, Trump’s fate is still uncertain. The mob references, however, still seem appropriate. He has brought the charisma of Charles Manson, the Blackshirts of Benito Mussolini, and the mob mentality of John Gotti to American politics.
With such rhetoric and threats of violence, will a truly free election ever again be possible? Will the 2024 election be free of intimidation? Can volunteer poll workers feel free to fulfill their civic duty? Can they still support democracy, or will they be intimidated and replaced by those who might have questionable motives? Election boards and election supervisors will not be risk-free positions in the future.
We are well beyond the era of the “hanging chad,” made famous during the Florida election debacle of 2000, and more in the era of hanging Chad, if Chad happens to get targeted by Trump or one of his anointed.
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