Trump associates with some rather questionable characters, including Lin Wood:
Despite many in Trump’s orbit declaring war on Wood after he pushed for a boycott of the Georgia Senate races, the president himself has personally kept in touch with the firebrand. Trump has not only encouraged Wood and Powell to continue with their “Kraken” lawsuits, but he also hasn’t told them to tone down their rhetoric, much to the dismay of many of Trump’s advisers.
This article caught my eye:
It seems that even the “free speech” social network Parler has its limits.
The social network that has attracted scores of conservative commentators because of its commitment to free speech has taken down several posts from Trump affiliate Lin Wood, according to a report in Mediaite.
In one of the posts removed from the social media platform, Wood called for the execution of Vice President Mike Pence.
The Trumpistas that stormed the Capitol seem to have similar views:
Meanwhile, the incitements to execute Pence seem to have been the animating factor for at least some of the rioters who stormed the Capitol building on Wednesday. Reuters Photo News Editor Jim Bourg tweeted about hearing at least three different rioters hoping to “find Vice President Mike Pence and execute him by hanging him from a Capitol Hill tree as a traitor.”
There’s discussion over whether Trump was inciting a riot and/or whether a “coup” attempt took place. Most of the discussion has too narrow a focus. For 5 years, Trump has been using violent rhetoric and fascist symbolism to create a misogynist, xenophobic, white nationalist movement in America. He’s demonized foreigners and minorities. He opposes free speech. He repeating praises brutal dictators while denigrating our democratic allies. He advocates putting a million Chinese Muslims into concentration camps. He praises American war criminals. He advocates torture. He invents a poisonous mythology of a stolen election, and tells his supporters to show strength in stopping Congress from stealing the election (while he hides like a coward). He surrounds himself with people who advocate violence, including Steve Bannon (who said Fauci should be beheaded) and Rudy Giuliani (who called for the Capitol Hill mob to engage in “combat”.) And Lin Wood.
Do I really need to connect the dots? How can anyone not see Trump for what he is?
Now you might argue that all this violent rhetoric was “just joking”, or metaphors. Maybe so. But look at the videotape of the morons that stormed Capital Hill. Do these look like people who understand when a person is joking?
It now seems that the GOP is going to stick with Trump. He’ll continue to poll well among average people, and cowardly GOP politicians will therefore stick with him. They cower in fear. That means that each day Trump will drag the Republican Party ever further down into the gutter with him.
It’s still Trump’s party.