Like all bullies, wannabe gangsters, or authoritarians, Trump is doing all of this because he can get away with it, since the spineless GOP congressional majority now has no problem with white nationalism, even when it's illegal. But more importantly, Trump is sending a message. And the message -- by ignoring Posse Comitatus and treaties, and by threatening the 14th Amendment -- is that he is not the president of the United States. He is the president of the white, angry 34 percent of the population who voted for him.
But he still has the title of president, which means, in Abraham Lincoln's words, he "comes clothed in immense power." His words and tweets and dog whistles arguably have inspired both mass murders and a mass assassination attempt via mail bombs. He has threatened to negate part of the Constitution. He has moved thousands of troops to the border to protect against a non-existent threat.
This is only the beginning. If Democrats win the House or Senate on November 6, he might accuse them of "fraud" and not recognize the results. The consequences of such a move are unpredictable. What is predictable is that the angry white nationalist, fresh from surveying the damage he helped to cause in Pittsburgh, will lash out. He always does.
*Charles Jaco is a journalist, author, and activist. Follow him on Twitter at @charlesjaco1.
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