Donald Trump’s Texas rally showed that his authoritarian visions and mobilization strategies are growing.
Although it is not clear if Donald Trump will run again for president, he has already raised the possibility of mobilising his supporters in masse for another purpose. At a Texas rally on Saturday, the former president discussed ongoing investigations into conductin New York and Georgia. He also called for mass demonstrations in defense of his name.
Georgia’s prosecutor investigating Trump’s interference in the election in her state took Trump’s call for action so seriously that she requested security assistance from the FBI
“We must all work together to keep people safe and prevent another tragedy in Atlanta like what happened at the United States Capitol January 6, 2021,” she wrote to the FBI. “I will not allow anyone to influence or intimidate me as this investigation progresses.”
Trump’s threat to strike is alarming. It suggests that Jan. 6, was not just a one-off event.
Trump called for mass mobilizations, which had nothing to do either with voting or other participation in the American electoral process. This was a rare act for a politician. Trump proposed actions that would further undermine its credibility. These would continue the extrainstitutional traditions that he started with Jan. 6, but with a different goal: Jan. 6 was focused on blocking peaceful transfer of power; these mobilizations would aim to undermine the criminal justice systems.
Combine this with comments he made about pardoning Jan.6 protesters if Trump were to re-enter The White House, and you get an expansion of Trump’s vision of willpower politics. Trump has pledged to attack institutions that uphold democracy law and promise impunity for those who do.
There are reasons to believe that right-wing protests could become violent, based on past trends during the Trump era. Lilliana Mason, a Johns Hopkins University political scientist, told me that right-wing protests “tend” to be armed and most dangerous. She also found that both parties became more open to violence in order to reach political goals during the Trump era. However, Republicans were particularly likely to accept legal political violence in the wake Trump’s first impeachment. To put it another way, protestors who perceive Trump as being in danger or being unfairly indicted could be encouraged to get rowdy.
Even if the protests against the prosecution didn’t become violent, their emergence would be a grievance that would have serious consequences for the right’s views on the legitimacy of the political systems. It would further radicalize its distrust of the institutions that govern the country. It would further sever “law” and “order” from each other when the right speaks about their importance. Vigilante violence can bring order to law if it is not legitimate.
The Democrats should increase their commitment to democracy as Trump’s efforts to undermine democracy intensify. This means that Democrats must not only keep legislatures and courts safe and try to pass required legislation to increase voter access, but also invest in structural political reforms that will improve the country’s democracy and respond to citizens’ needs. This means that the movement left must focus on pro-democracy ideas such as reforming the Senate and removing the filibuster.
2016 was a mistake by the Democrats. They thought that simply defending the status quo would suffice to counter Trump’s threat. This cannot happen again. It’s crucial to offer something better, brighter, and more just in an age of political turmoil and declining trust in institutions. Ambitious democracy projects are sure to excite voters. They’re also the right thing for a party to do if it wants to demonstrate its commitment to a government that is people-centered, for the people, and by the people.
