MAGAReport for 5/31/2024 - the Conviction Edition

They are so mad.

No automated summaries today - there’s basically just one topic of conversation on the MAGA boards and that’s Trump’s conviction in New York. Y’all, they are so mad about it.

There’s the usual and expected parroting of Trump’s rhetoric about how this was unfair, corrupt, etc. A lot of “Banana Republic” language. But, of course, we’re all worried about violence, and there’s a lot of talk but, spoiler alert, no plans for action. Let’s look into it.

These communities love the idea of retribution against their perceived enemies, and in that fantasy, it is usually carried out by the (Trump-controlled) state with public executions, sometimes also torture. Here are some examples from last night calling for hangings. (cw: a lot of offensive language in here)

Most of these threats are directed at the judge, though some loop in the prosecutors, Democrats, etc. I am not a lawyer, but I think a lot of these posts would constitute criminal threats against public officials. For example, under a thread titled “How do we legally punish the judge?” was this exchange:

The jurors are not the main focus of discussion, but there are threats against them there, too. I don't expect any of the "hanging" threats against the judge or DA to be prosecuted, but I hope authorities are taking a hard look at anyone threatening the jury like this.

But are they going to actually do anything? Right now, it doesn't seem like it. They like to talk a big game - not just about this conviction, but also generally - about civil war, shootings, etc. But there are no organized plans to even demonstrate, let alone target anyone.

A theme that is so prominent that I'm working up a bigger piece on it is that idea that these guys want everything to go their way, they want their enemies punished (preferably with violence), they want it immediately and with minimal discomfort. This is why J6 happened. These people are desperate for a fast, simple fix. J6 offered that. Show up for one day, undo the election to make it go your way, take relatively easy action that's exciting and "heroic". No messy civil war, very little cost or discomfort (or so they thought).

Now, they want Trump to find an easy, fast, low-effort solution to the situation. They want him to tell them what to do and, as long as it's not too hard and sounds like it will work, some (maybe a lot) will be willing to do extreme things. But this would be one-off action, not sustained.

There's nothing in the posts I'm seeing about any organized violence or demonstration. They didn’t even pull together a little protest somewhere last night. There is a boiling rage, a hunger for violence and retribution, a search for a leader to direct it, but also tremendous cowardice and deep laziness.

There are two things necessary for this part of the far-right to act with organized violence: A plan that, if successful, would put Trump back in office or bring some other huge win that would change the country quickly into what they want; and Trump himself calling on them to execute the plan.

From my perspective, I don't see that happening until the election. It could be violence around the polls or it could be another Big Lie style one-off like we saw on J6. Lone actors may absolutely do violent things in the meantime. But as a group, this MAGA part of the far-right is made up of weak-minded men who follow the rageful whims of what Trump and the far right media tells them. They won't do anything unless they are told to and it's easy. And for now, it doesn’t seem like there’s a clear path to action for them.