That Was a Call to Arms and Civil War, Not to Vote.

Trump's Nazi hate rally at MSG rallied the troops, and not in the democratic way.

Did you see yesterday’s rally at Madison Square Garden, or at least clips of it? One speaker called it a Nazi rally unironically. Another called Puerto Rico a pile of garbage. It was an explosion of hate, racism, and anti-Semitism, which dripped from one speaker to the next.

I saw people all over social media and on podcasts wonder how Trump could possibly gain any voters with this kind of hate, especially in the middle of NYC, which would be voting blue in any case. The answer is that HE WASN’T TRYING TO WOO VOTERS. Others called it a major fail for Trump as a closing argument.

They’re wrong. This is not a normal political campaign, and Trump could care less about engaging more voters. This is the first step in the violent torrent the right is planning, whether out in the open or behind implausibly deniable dog whistles.

This rally was a call to arms, a message to the MAGA/NAZI base that violence will be required. They meant it as a rally they could point to when they accuse Harris of stealing the election, because how could she possibly win when so many people in NYC supported Fascist Trump and his Fascist followers?

I asked Jeff Sharlet, the author of The Undertow: Scenes from a Slow Civil War and a guest on this podcast HERE, whether this was a prelude to hitting the accelerator on the civil war he writes about? He replied, “Sounds like it.”

Here’s what JoJoFromJerz had to say:

I think this is the absolute core of the Nazi rally, which some in the media compared to the 1939 Nazi rally at MSG by the German Bund.

So, what do we need to do?

1. We need to keep our eyes on the prize. Keep voting, bringing other people out, donating, volunteering. And vote Dem all the way down the ballot, not just for Harris Walz. A lot of red states are a lot more competitive than they seem further down the ballot. The bigger we win, the harder it is for them to steal the election (which they will try to do. My podcast this week will talk about how).

2. We need to understand what that rally, and all the other rallies in sundown towns, and the mass violence at the Trump rally (I don’t call it an assassination attempt b/c I don’t think it was), is meant to do. It was meant to rile the base, prime them for combat, communicate the cult leader’s orders, and to gather the troops.

   
   It’s also meant to move the needle ever more toward atrocity…meaning boiling the froggie a little hotter, move the goalposts, deepen the divide…whatever metaphor you want to use.

3. We need to see what the Republicans are doing to cheat, and all the pretexts they’ll come up with to cheat. If you’re an attorney, get hooked up with voter protection organizations in your area. (Ask your state party, or Power the Vote, or any other voter protection org you know of). Lend your time and expertise to all the legal fights that are coming.

4. Keep getting people to the polls.

5. Keep situational awareness. Understand what the Republicans are up to, understand the Russian, Iranian, and Chinese interference in the campaigns to sow division and divert attention. Know what militia groups are doing in your area to keep yourself and your family safe.

6. Keep pushing toward victory.

7. Listen to the podcast and read my post tomorrow for specific timing of post-election deadlines, for specific messaging we all need to engage in, and for specific calls to our elected officials.

Below, I’m linking to several clips that tell you exactly what’s going on during the rally, so you can avoid any sanewashing you hear.

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Now for the clips you are looking for:

First, here’s a participant calling it a NAZI Rally.

Stephen Miller saying America is for Americans Only. Start around 2:30 if you can’t watch the whole thing.

And here’s a clip of the “comedian” Tony Hinchcliffecalling Puerto Rico an island of garbage.

This morning, AOC summed it up perfectly:

And here’s MSNBC describing it as a the first Nazi rally at Madison Square Garden since the first one, 85 years ago:

Please like and restack to get the message out. Join the community and invite others too!

If you want more content like this, great podcast guests, useful calls to action, and more, please please please subscribe. If you can, please consider a paid subscription (especially if you canceled your WaPo as I did) to keep the content coming. I don’t have any staff, so anything you can do will help.

Also, please share with your networks. All my content is free.