People Talk About Leaving if Trump-Fascism Wins. And, Just what Trump Would Do, If/When Back in Power"
"Either this nation shall kill racism, or racism shall kill this nation." (S. Jonas, August, 2018)
"A Vote for 'ABBB' (Any Body but Biden) is a Vote for Trump and Republo-Fascism" (S. Jonas, March, 2024)
I'm comin' to get c'hu.
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"Fight or flight: Fearful Trump critics weigh the risk of retribution if he's re-elected: Some are considering leaving the country if Trump returns to the White House or saving money to handle the expected legal costs." By Peter Nicholas
Some excerpts:
"Interviews with more than a dozen people who have run afoul of Trump for various reasons reveal deep worry among many that he will seek revenge if he wins another term. They are considering ways to protect themselves should he use the office's vast powers to punish them over grievances that he has been nursing.
"Fearful of being hounded by investigators, prosecuted, or stripped of their livelihoods, some are planning to leave the country if Trump is sworn in. Others are consulting attorneys or setting aside money to fight back in case they are targeted either by Trump's administration or by his Republican allies in Congress.
"A natural assumption would be that the targets of Trump's ire are Democrats or political rivals who tried to beat him at the ballot box. But it is not quite so simple. History shows there are all sorts of ways to leave Trump aggrieved, and some who feel they are in jeopardy worked directly with him or believed in his agenda."
Among these folks are:
"Stephanie Grisham, a former press secretary in Trump's White House, [who] wrote a book about her experience and has become a sharp critic of the former president's.
"Famously, '[Trump] told conservative activists last year that "for those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution." ' "
"Sarah Matthews is a former White House press aide who in the early going credited Trump with championing everyday Americans who felt ignored by Washington. She resigned on Jan. 6, 2021 -- the day Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol. . . Matthews testified before the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol."
"Michael Cohen put it very succinctly. Cohen said that he would leave the U.S. if Trump wins the election. The first term, he said, 'was a practice run for him.' "
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And further:
The husband of adult film actress Stormy Daniels said on Tuesday that there's a "good chance" the couple will leave the country if former President Donald Trump is acquitted in his Manhattan criminal trial.
Tony Schwartz, who ghost wrote the Trump book "The Art of the Deal," but who has become a strong Trump "revelatory critic," said that would be "fleeing the country."
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Just a couple of comments on "leaving," whether one would be in Trump's cross-hairs, or one simply would not want to live in a country governed by the Trump-Republo-fascists. Well, It won't be so easy to leave. VERY briefly for now.
Canada will close its border (and I mean really close its border whether one has money to buy increasingly costly housing or not). Mexico will build a wall, and pay for it, on its side of the Rio Grande and the rest of the border, allowing in only persons who can prove that they are/were Mexican citizens or have Mexican ancestry.
Most countries around the world will require immigration visas and in many countries that US who can afford to leave, do not want to be overwhelmed with cadres of ex-US who: 1) may well have their passports lifted by a Trump State Department (which happened to many left-wing US during the McCarthy Era), 2) cannot for one reason or another get their funds out of the U.S., and would lose access to regular sources of income in the future, 3) do not qualify for one reason or another for immigration visas, 4) will not have moved fast enough before they are not picked up for one reason or another by official or unofficial Trump "law enforcement" agencies.
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But why would folks who do not have personal reasons for doing so want to leave? Most readers of OpEdNews.com have a wealth of knowledge about that subject, but here's a summary list of some of the reasons why, in one place. And indeed, it is scary lisr. And so, here's one list (with some comments and emendations by myself) prepared by Johnathan Last for The Bulwark. (Of course, this list and its final contents depend very much upon who controls the House and the Senate, but it is based on the assumption that the Trumpublicans control both, and that they manage to eliminate the filibuster rule in the Senate, by one means or another. Next after this list, I provide a one of the extra-legal/illegal actions Trump would very likely undertake, regardless of who controls the Congress.
1. Trump signs into law an extension of the tax-cuts-for-the-rich that was originally enacted in 2017. (This is one of the principal reasons that assorted billionaires are beginning to line up behind Trump regardless of whether they like the man or his politics, or not.)
2. "Justice" Thomas retires to enjoy more time with his super-deluxe motorhome. (Being off-the-Court, he won't be getting any more bribes, I mean complementary just-for-the fun-of-it trips, on luxury yachts.) Alito (along with his upside down US flag) follows him, and Trump gets to appoint two more members who make his first three look like liberals, e.g., Judge Kacsmaryk.
3. Aid to Ukraine will be terminated at the earliest possible moment. As Mr. Last says: "The EU countries try to make up the arms shortfall, but can't. Ukraine is faced with either ceding territory or facing total subjugation. There's a ceasefire on favorable terms for Russia, giving them territory and a defensible border."
4. On Israel, supported by ever-increasing ranks of the U.S. "Jews for Hitler" (see my column at OpEdNews, 6-13-2023) Trump will, as he had said, let "Netanyahu finish the job" (as of March 5, 2024: Click Here).
5. Trump will try a number of different legal and extra-legal acts to enable withdrawal from NATO.
6. (From SJ, not Mr. Last): On China, who knows? It depends in part on, when the first crisis (Taiwan, South China Sea, manufactured good tariffs, or what-have-you), which day of the week it is and which side of bed Trump gets up on.
7. On freedom-of-choice-in-the-outcome-of-pregnancy, Mr. Last says that Trump will try to persuade the Congressional Repubs. not to pass a national ban. I disagree on this one. As he almost always does, with no re-election facing him(for as long as he lives) he will go with his base on this one.
8. Of course, the current Federal legal actions against Trump will be dropped forthwith (DUH). As far as the "Georgia" cases go, at this point it's anybody's guess. But the Trump "Justice" Dept. will bring to bear every single legal tactic that anyone has thought of to get rid of that problem that they can, and probably a few that haven't been thought up yet
9. Mr. Last says that the (up to) 11 million illegal immigrants will not be deported, because no country will accept them back. BUT: A) Trump has already promised a huge network of huge concentration camps (using the original German meaning for them --- people crowded into camps to the fullest [literally] extent possible). B) Ships might be loaded up with illegal (and legals too, who knows) immigrants and just dumped at foreign ports (a sort-of reverse of the small boats that cross the Med. and the English Channel). As I note further below, Trump will not have to complete the Wall. Mexico will do it for him, but for a different reason.
And then, here are a few more from my own pen.
1. To engage in physical repression of, from demonstrations to actions of various State legislatures and Courts, Trump will not be able to deploy the military immediately (current confirmed service chiefs would remain in office until new nominees could be confirmed - that is unless Trump just went around that little inconvenience). So, NO Insurrection Act implementation right away. But, of course he will have multiple National Guard units from "Red" states. Further, as I have stated in earlier columns, I think that a private army is being quietly assembled, based on existing, small right-wing terror groups, but evolving into something much larger, similar to the Nazi Sturmabteilung (the SA, "Storm Division") also known as the Brown Shirts for (duh) the color of their uniforms. I have thought up a logical name for these units, but I do not want to get sued, so I will not put it into print.
2. On China, who knows? It depends in part on, when the first crisis (Taiwan, South China Sea, manufactured good tariffs, or what-have-you) occurs, which day of the week it is, and which side of bed Trump gets up on, on that day.
3. If Trump is still in office, as an advertisement that living a totally un-healthy life-style doesn't always lead to bad health-results, in 2028, in one way or another, there may very well be no national elections (numbers of observers have noted this possibility).
4. Trump will silence the media, by pushing through Congress a reversal/repeal of the "Actual Malice" standard which currently governs libel law. That is, to succeed in a libel action presently, one must prove that the defendant publication lied and knew it was a lie when the statement being challenged was made (that is be able to prove "actual malice"). Just as Hitler shut down the "Lugen Presse" (lying press) as fast as the SA could carry out the task by violence, Trump will shut down any media he wants to through the courts. And while waiting for court action, following the Hitler example, he just might swing his new private militia into actions, destroying facilities and murdering journalists and administrators as quickly as possible.
5. Trump will move quickly to, on-his-own, without the benefit of legislation, repeal the Civil Service Act of 1883, as amended, and institute the Heritage Foundation's "Project 2025," which returns to what in the 19th century before the CSA was enacted was called "The Spoils System."
6. Trump will ignore the Courts, including his Supreme Court, if he deems it necessary. The Rule-of-Law will be gone, and the Trumpublican response --- and yes, the Trumpublicans of almost any stripe will just buy in (and even non-Trumpublicans buy in, in part: see Mitt Romney who says that Biden should pardon Trump).
7. Trump will begin to rule by Diktat. And when the first Order goes through, in one way another, with connivance of the Trump-Republo Congress and the Trump-Republo Courts, some "legal" way to do that will be thought up. (Think the Nazi "Enabling Act" of March, 1933 which, by a vote of the Reichstag [the German parliament] effectively made Hitler dictator for life).
8. The "Bloodbath" that Trump has promised will be undertaken, both legally and perhaps literally. E.g., the former President, his principal staff, and the key Cabinet members will be taken into "protective custody" (or worse), as will the prosecutor Smith and the relevant judges
And for now, we shall leave it there/. In sum: It is easy to see that there is much to be terrified of from a future Trump Presidency. But as for leaving the country, for one reason or another, that will be very difficult. For most of us, the only choice will be to stay and fight.