Will there be a Night of the Long Knives?

[Elixir]

Will Trump conduct a mass arrest of his political opponents?
Should we start a pool on when? (I'll take January 2027)

What are the forces, if any, that would prevent him from doing such a thing?
Unfeasibility? I don't know, they tend to all congregate a lot...
Unpopularity? When has that stopped him?
Possible violent reprisals? That's about the only thing I can think of.

 

[pood]

Will Trump conduct a mass arrest of his political opponents?
Should we start a pool on when? (I'll take January 2027)

What are the forces, if any, that would prevent him from doing such a thing?
Unfeasibility? I don't know, they tend to all congregate a lot...
Unpopularity? When has that stopped him?
Possible violent reprisals? That's about the only thing I can think of.

I don’t think anyone will stop him, and I doubt there will be any future elections.

 

[Derec]

Night of the Long Knives refers to a purge of parts of his own NSDAP. So an analogy would be a purge either of the Muskovites or Bannonites.

 

[pood]

I really see effectively nothing standing in his way of imposing a dictatorship. The Republicans who control Congress won’t do anything. The radical right-wing supreme court has already granted him immunity for any “official” acts, and he can baldly claim that all his acts, even those that violate the law and the Constitution, are “official.” As Hitler changed the German Weimar flag to the swastika flag, I expect Trump to slap his smirking, repulsive puss onto the canton of the U.S. flag to replace the 50 stars.

 

[KCFlyer]

Will Trump conduct a mass arrest of his political opponents?

He has pulled the security details of Cheney, Bolton and Fauci and has said he wouldn't feel responsible at all if something bad befell them. They had a security detail because they had received death threats from MAGA supporters because of Trump's rhetoric.. And I have no doubt that if someone DID take them out - he would pardon them....and MAGA would applaud.

 

[TomC]

Will Trump conduct a mass arrest of his political opponents?

He has pulled the security details of Cheney, Bolton and Fauci and has said he wouldn't feel responsible at all if something bad befell them. They had a security detail because they had received death threats from MAGA supporters because of Trump's rhetoric.. And I have no doubt that if someone DID take them out - he would pardon them....and MAGA would applaud.

Pretty much this.
It looks to me like the Night of the Long Knives, 21st century American style, has already begun.
I wonder what that will be called 30 years from now.
Tom

 

[ideologyhunter]

I'm second only to advocates of violence in my loathing of The Asshole. I don't wish to advance any excuses for him, and I don't want to minimize the damage he does to this country, every day he draws breath. However, a lot of his act is performative. And a lot of his focus since 2016 has been finding ways to monetize his political career. (As far as I know, he wasn't pro-life until he got into Repub politics, and he used to donate to Dems.)
So, yes, he has said that he will go after the enemy within, and that Liz Cheney for one should be tried by a military court (whatever fucking sense that makes), and, to jump ahead, that she deserves prison. I get it.
But the pattern with Trump has always been that he says or tweets something completely deranged every day. No one has time to keep up with his craziness. While we're waiting for a reporter to press him on something he said last week, he's already said half a dozen other crazy things. Bannon thinks this is a winning strategy -- referring to the past month, he says that if the administration keeps moving with blitzkrieg speed, invading a new government bureau every two days, that no one will keep up with them.
All of DOGE is a strategy to keep the tax cuts that the ultra-rich love. You don't care about fraud if you start by firing all the inspectors general.
Yes, he's thirsting for revenge, like the toddler he is, but that will take a back seat to scheming for big paydays.
I can see lawsuits and even civil/criminal charging against some of his "enemies", because he has a deep need to harass them and cost them dearly in monetary terms. But the main thrust of his Presidency will be his wallet.
Even with the SCOTUS we have now, to simply order Patel to arrest prominent Dems would be too hazardous to T's main goals in life to be worth it to him. He would not be able to face losing to people he hates in a court proceeding.
Okay, call me naive. Just don't call me a Trump Enabler. He's a slimy, hateful bastard, and he makes me ashamed not just for the American Right, but for humanity. That an x and y chromosome could unite and grow up to become this douche canoe makes you question the whole human project.

 

[SLD]

I actually agree with Derec here. A night of the long knives would have to be against Musk. He’s very muchin the mold of Rohm too. He’s basically out of control and the professional financiers, as opposed to the army, may step in and tell Trump he has to go.

It won’t be violent mind you. He won’t need to be.

 

[Jarhyn]

Will Trump conduct a mass arrest of his political opponents?

He has pulled the security details of Cheney, Bolton and Fauci and has said he wouldn't feel responsible at all if something bad befell them. They had a security detail because they had received death threats from MAGA supporters because of Trump's rhetoric.. And I have no doubt that if someone DID take them out - he would pardon them....and MAGA would applaud.

Pretty much this.
It looks to me like the Night of the Long Knives, 21st century American style, has already begun.
I wonder what that will be called 30 years from now.
Tom

The moment after someone actually makes a move on such a person and it is made clear no consequences will happen, the flood will start.

 

[ZiprHead]

I actually agree with Derec here. A night of the long knives would have to be against Musk. He’s very muchin the mold of Rohm too. He’s basically out of control and the professional financiers, as opposed to the army, may step in and tell Trump he has to go.

It won’t be violent mind you. He won’t need to be.

Does it really have to be?

He wants to take over the FCC. My guess is he will try to shut down outlets like Free Speech TV and MSNBC even though they don't use the broadcast airwaves.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Night of the Long Knives refers to a purge of parts of his own NSDAP. So an analogy would be a purge either of the Muskovites or Bannonites.

You also have what remains of the professional GOP party, mostly in the US Senate. Sen. Thune is a stalwart conservative, but as we all know Trump isn't a conservative, he is a right-wing populist. The majority of GOP Senators aren't quite drinking the punch at this point. They love the idea of starving the government, tax cuts, which is why they continue to allow this bullshit, but Trump creating an alliance with Russia, I don't think Sen. Thune is okay with that.

But much like how women that supported self-autonomy voted for Trump because of the economy, we'll need to wait and see what the GOP in the US Senate do when Trump announces some shady deal with Russia. We already see the state of NY is about to fire the NYC Mayor because of the admitted and grossly unethical quid quo pro with Trump.

There are a bunch of layers here and it is impossible to know just how the GOP is going to dissolve. But it looks like that it will dissolve. Even if the GOP in the US Senate comes to their senses and that Trump has "gone too far", the GOP in the House already have their black Nikes on (<--- yes, I'm getting older), so the time for action has long since passed.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Will Trump conduct a mass arrest of his political opponents?

He has pulled the security details of Cheney, Bolton and Fauci and has said he wouldn't feel responsible at all if something bad befell them. They had a security detail because they had received death threats from MAGA supporters because of Trump's rhetoric.. And I have no doubt that if someone DID take them out - he would pardon them....and MAGA would applaud.

Pretty much this.
It looks to me like the Night of the Long Knives, 21st century American style, has already begun.
I wonder what that will be called 30 years from now.
Tom

The moment after someone actually makes a move on such a person and it is made clear no consequences will happen, the flood will start.

We are heading to that point now. Appeals courts generally are telling the Trump Admin to get bent. But he does have the SCOTUS in his back pocket. Three certain votes for whatever the fuck he wants, and needing just 2 of the remaining 3 very conservative justices.

 

[Jarhyn]

Will Trump conduct a mass arrest of his political opponents?

He has pulled the security details of Cheney, Bolton and Fauci and has said he wouldn't feel responsible at all if something bad befell them. They had a security detail because they had received death threats from MAGA supporters because of Trump's rhetoric.. And I have no doubt that if someone DID take them out - he would pardon them....and MAGA would applaud.

Pretty much this.
It looks to me like the Night of the Long Knives, 21st century American style, has already begun.
I wonder what that will be called 30 years from now.
Tom

The moment after someone actually makes a move on such a person and it is made clear no consequences will happen, the flood will start.

We are heading to that point now. Appeals courts generally are telling the Trump Admin to get bent. But he does have the SCOTUS in his back pocket. Three certain votes for whatever the fuck he wants, and needing just 2 of the remaining 3 very conservative justices.

Quite my point: We aren't there yet, but we will be there, probably by spring.

And what then? The whole economy is going to go tits up almost immediately afterward.

 

[TomC]

Will Trump conduct a mass arrest of his political opponents?

He has pulled the security details of Cheney, Bolton and Fauci and has said he wouldn't feel responsible at all if something bad befell them. They had a security detail because they had received death threats from MAGA supporters because of Trump's rhetoric.. And I have no doubt that if someone DID take them out - he would pardon them....and MAGA would applaud.

Pretty much this.
It looks to me like the Night of the Long Knives, 21st century American style, has already begun.
I wonder what that will be called 30 years from now.
Tom

The moment after someone actually makes a move on such a person and it is made clear no consequences will happen, the flood will start.

We are heading to that point now. Appeals courts generally are telling the Trump Admin to get bent. But he does have the SCOTUS in his back pocket. Three certain votes for whatever the fuck he wants, and needing just 2 of the remaining 3 very conservative justices.

Quite my point: We aren't there yet, but we will be there, probably by spring.

And what then? The whole economy is going to go tits up almost immediately afterward.

Which will be great for the Deep State who want to use chaos to consolidate their wealth and power.
Tom

 

[Elixir]

I actually agree with Derec here. A night of the long knives would have to be against Musk. He’s very muchin the mold of Rohm too. He’s basically out of control and the professional financiers, as opposed to the army, may step in and tell Trump he has to go.

It won’t be violent mind you. He won’t need to be.

Does it really have to be?

He wants to take over the FCC. My guess is he will try to shut down outlets like Free Speech TV and MSNBC even though they don't use the broadcast airwaves.

Much of their global distribution I understand uses Starlink, so who knows.

 

[Elixir]

Will Trump conduct a mass arrest of his political opponents?

He has pulled the security details of Cheney, Bolton and Fauci and has said he wouldn't feel responsible at all if something bad befell them. They had a security detail because they had received death threats from MAGA supporters because of Trump's rhetoric.. And I have no doubt that if someone DID take them out - he would pardon them....and MAGA would applaud.

Pretty much this.
It looks to me like the Night of the Long Knives, 21st century American style, has already begun.
I wonder what that will be called 30 years from now.
Tom

The moment after someone actually makes a move on such a person and it is made clear no consequences will happen, the flood will start.

We are heading to that point now. Appeals courts generally are telling the Trump Admin to get bent. But he does have the SCOTUS in his back pocket. Three certain votes for whatever the fuck he wants, and needing just 2 of the remaining 3 very conservative justices.

Quite my point: We aren't there yet, but we will be there, probably by spring.

And what then? The whole economy is going to go tits up almost immediately afterward.

Which will be great for the Deep State who want to use chaos to consolidate their wealth and power.
Tom

Yup. Billionaires are insulated from stuff that totally wrecks life for everyone else.

 

[Jarhyn]

Will Trump conduct a mass arrest of his political opponents?

He has pulled the security details of Cheney, Bolton and Fauci and has said he wouldn't feel responsible at all if something bad befell them. They had a security detail because they had received death threats from MAGA supporters because of Trump's rhetoric.. And I have no doubt that if someone DID take them out - he would pardon them....and MAGA would applaud.

Pretty much this.
It looks to me like the Night of the Long Knives, 21st century American style, has already begun.
I wonder what that will be called 30 years from now.
Tom

The moment after someone actually makes a move on such a person and it is made clear no consequences will happen, the flood will start.

We are heading to that point now. Appeals courts generally are telling the Trump Admin to get bent. But he does have the SCOTUS in his back pocket. Three certain votes for whatever the fuck he wants, and needing just 2 of the remaining 3 very conservative justices.

Quite my point: We aren't there yet, but we will be there, probably by spring.

And what then? The whole economy is going to go tits up almost immediately afterward.

Which will be great for the Deep State who want to use chaos to consolidate their wealth and power.
Tom

You misspelled "The Oligarchy".

Really, they want to take away the argument people have for their desert to food and shelter and safety.

Everyone tries so hard to show others that they are worthy of their existence, and that we ARE in this together.

Instead, the death of the middle class means all that stuff we do for and with each other to make this life bearable will go away. That's what they want to do... Eliminate taxes (so that inflation goes fairly wild), increase tariffs so that things become expensive, and then use their ownership tokens (stocks) as shelter, since their production assets won't lose value in the same way as the dollar, and can be borrowed against, to have previous liens paid by the inflated payout of new loans, and only they will have the power to take/give those loans.

It creates a money fountain that is driven by "cracking the economy open and feasting on its corpse". Eventually the only "real" money will be those stock tokens.

Then, they just wait for people to clean up the mess, and those who perpetuated the scam end up on the very top of the next money system cycle.

I'm pretty sure this is what happened near the end of the Weimar Republic?

 

[Elixir]

Eliminate taxes (so that inflation goes fairly wild), increase tariffs so that things become expensive, and then use their ownership tokens (stocks) as shelter, since their production assets won't lose value in the same way as the dollar, and can be borrowed against, to have previous liens paid by the inflated payout of new loans, and only they will have the power to take/give those loans.

EXACTLY that.
This entire effort is an attempt to consolidate not just power, but ownership of virtually everything, to the oligarchy. A billion or two will probably not suffice to gain entry to the ownership club; even a fortune that size will fall within a generation, or two at the most.

a money fountain that is driven by "cracking the economy open and feasting on its corpse"

I don't know if that's your line or you borrowed it, but it is the best summation of "the plan" that I have seen. (I WILL be borrowing it!)

 

[Jarhyn]

Eliminate taxes (so that inflation goes fairly wild), increase tariffs so that things become expensive, and then use their ownership tokens (stocks) as shelter, since their production assets won't lose value in the same way as the dollar, and can be borrowed against, to have previous liens paid by the inflated payout of new loans, and only they will have the power to take/give those loans.

EXACTLY that.
This entire effort is an attempt to consolidate not just power, but ownership of virtually everything, to the oligarchy. A billion or two will probably not suffice to gain entry to the ownership club; even a fortune that size will fall within a generation, or two at the most.

a money fountain that is driven by "cracking the economy open and feasting on its corpse"

I don't know if that's your line or you borrowed it, but it is the best summation of "the plan" that I have seen. (I WILL be borrowing it!)

It's original. And yes. I'm not looking forward to this. This is one of the reasons churches have been consolidating ownership and stocks and wealth, so that they will weather the storm.

Property ownership might be enough, but no credit will be offered to the rabble for such stunts.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

A night of the long knives would imply competent planning on his part. That does not exist.

And that's why the suggestions of assassination that we keep having to delete wouldn't work--he's the figurehead, not the problem. The problem is that those who control the power like what he's doing.