Trump calls on supporters to 'guard the vote' in Democratic-run US cities
Speaking at a campaign event in Iowa, Trump said it was important to scrutinize the vote in the battleground states likely to determine the general election. He singled out the biggest cities in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Georgia.
"So the most important part of what's coming up is to guard the vote. And you should go into Detroit and you should go into Philadelphia and you should go into some of these places, Atlanta," Trump said in Ankeny, a suburb of Des Moines.
Trump's comments foreshadow what is likely to be a contentious election in November 2024. Despite the failure of dozens of lawsuits filed by Trump and his allies challenging the outcome in 2020, Trump continues to claim, without evidence, that he lost to U.S. President Joe Biden due to fraud.
Sounds like he's hoping thugs will show up and scare some people into not voting in states he'd probably have lost?
It's "sounds like he's hoping" they will the same way he was "hoping" they would assault the Capitol. He told them to do it in thinly veiled language.
"Will no one rid me of this meddlesome democracy?"
He makes highly non-committal statements like a mafia godfather.
At best. At worst, he's advocating for violence against anyone who might vote for Biden.
I think its more heckling poll station workers and brown people, but yeah.
Right people make fun but this is a longer term strategy to make the poll workers quit so they can be replaced with actual fascists who will actually shred ballots of anyone who looks too Democrat.
THIS^ This is the real reason for them to flood the polling places - he who counts the votes determines the winner
I don't really understand how the US voting system works. But if enough people in states he would have lost decide "Fuck it, not worth the risk of going out to vote", even if that includes people who would have voted for him, would that benefit him? Reducing voter turnout across the board in states he'd have lost? Legit curious if that might be his goal or if that makes no sense.
People who vote for Trump won't be afraid because they know the scary people are on their side.
When fewer people vote, Republicans tend to win. They've even outright admitted this at times. This is why so many Republicans are in favor of enacting rules that limit voter participation. If the Republicans can prevent enough people from exercising their right to vote, then they might win. If too many legal voters cast their ballots, the Democrats will win - and that can't be allowed!
Republicans won't stay home out of fear. They're the ones with the bulk of the guns anyways and seems a large body of them are itching for a manufactured reason to use them.
'i WaS gUaRdInG tHe VoTe'
To this day, Trump claims that he actually won in New York and California, among other safe blue states. Fit the record, the last time NY went red was 1984 and the last time California went red was 1988.
Trump's convinced that there was "voter fraud" that turned those states blue, when they've been blue for over 30 years. He thinks that, if you removed all the "voter fraud," he really won in every state.
My guess is that he thinks voting for a Democrat is voter fraud and wants his violent mobs to make sure no "voter fraud" takes place. If he's elected President, I fear that we'll still have elections, but in the way Russia holds elections. "Do you want to vote for Trump or do you want to be sent to prison?"
The Russian style election‽
Exactly. We'd still have "elections" to "prove that we're still free," but it would be just for show. Even if you somehow didn't face consequences for voting against Trump, your vote would be tossed for being voter fraud. (Because all votes against Trump would be called fraudulent.)
So it's allowed to harass people who want to vote, but not allowed to hand out water to people who are in line waiting to vote?
Well yes, because the wrong people are voting and getting water. (/s though it shouldn't be needed).
I assume people got in trouble for handing out water, then?
It was a law Georgia added after Trump lost. Part of the "election integrity" things they were doing. People can literally wait hours in line at some voting locations. If they legislated that each precinct was required to regularly give out water to those in line, then it wouldn't have been so bad. I believe it was a bad faith change.
It's not that simple. Swing states have a divide between cities and rural counties. If you scare enough voters away in cities, those swing states become easier to win. It has nothing to do with the states he will lose, and everything to do with the ones he needs to win.
Problem here is people in cities don't scare easily. If a rural mob of ppl comes rolling through my city policing the polls, its going to cause a huge shitshow but it won't keep anyone from voting. Hell, it might drive turnout among some that were planning on not voting out of apathy. We city folk fight back. Trump sends his brownshirts here, they'll get bloody noses at the very least.