Donald Trump on his Black Lives Matter heckler: 'Maybe he should have been roughed up' https://t.co/lrX7pbJ3Vw pic.twitter.com/MCXnyv2aug
— Business Insider (@businessinsider) November 22, 2015
At last, an experiment to answer the plaint, “How come those #BLM protestors aren’t disrupting Trump rallies?” Per NYMag, “Black Lives Matter Protester Tackled by Crowd at Trump Rally in Alabama“:
CNN reports that a black protester who tried to disrupt Donald Trump’s campaign rally in Alabama Saturday was involved in an altercation with several crowd members. The man was shouting “black lives matter” and wearing a shirt adorned with the same statement, and members of the crowd apparently took it upon themselves to intervene. The Montgomery Advertiser notes that he was one of three protesters who had entered the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex about 35 minutes into Trump’s speech in an attempt to disrupt it.
According to the Advertiser, event staff asked the protesters to stop, and two then did while the third continued to protest. An anonymous Trump staffer said that “the guy was being disruptive. He was doing the Black Lives Matter thing and saying other phrases that were really firing up the crowd around him. He was throwing his hands around almost punching.” But according to CNN, the protester was shoved and tackled by several people — all of whom were white — and also punched by at least one man and kicked by one woman while he was on the ground. Security officers eventually escorted the man out of the rally, and at least one attendee can be heard chanting “all lives matter” in response. The anonymous Trump staff member insisted the protester’s removal was a safety issue, because “the guy was intentionally antagonizing the crowd.”
The man did not need medical attention. No arrests were made but three people were reportedly asked to leave the rally after the altercation, though it’s not clear if they were protesters or attendees. As the protest happened, Trump responded by ridiculing the protester and saying “get him the hell out of here.”… Trump also differentiated himself from Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, who Trump says allowed (Black Lives Matter) protesters to take over one of his rallies because Sanders was too politically correct. Trump then assured the crowd that would never happen at one of his rallies…
Gotta say, for wanna-be thugs, these guys seem to be on the same tactical level as a bunch of fourth graders — lots of posing-in-front-of-the-bathroom-mirror MMA-on-the-tv stances, shouting slogans, flailing, a sneaky kick or poke once the professionals swarm the protestor. A suicide bomber wouldn’t even need to set off his vest to take out these noble defenders of FREEDUMB!!! — one look at an actual physical threat and they’d trample each other, shitting themselves in terror.
Interview with protestor Mercutio Southall here.
If a Tea Party protestor at a Hillary rally was treated like a BLM one at a a Trump rally, how many Fox shows would he be booked on?
— Bob Schooley (@Rschooley) November 21, 2015
"When fascism comes to America it'll be very phenomenal and very, very classy." – Upton Sinclair
— elias isquith (@eliasisquith) November 22, 2015
jl
Not sure this is a Trump thing or a natural evolution of our current beloved GOP. Weren’t there some GOP head stompings and punches at protesters (even ones far less aggressive than the BLM people) in previous campaigns? And there is the history of increasingly fascistic security at GOP conventions.
But, Trump’s reaction is new. The candidate personally explicitly excuses, even recommends it, rather than remaining silent or using dog whistles.
Trump On Black Lives Matter Protester: Maybe He Should’ve Been Roughed Up
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/trump-roughed-up-black-lives-matter-protester
Gin & Tonic
Despite absolutely zero corroborating evidence, and in fact in the face of explicit denials that it happened anywhere, Il Donaldo insists that he saw “thousands of people” cheering in the streets of Jersey City as the WTC towers came down on Sep 11, 2001.
danielx
and YOOOOOOGE.
Amir Khalid
I have to wonder, how many hearts and minds does The Donald win when something like this gets reported? This is a candidate who actually sets out to appeal to this kind of ugliness in people.
Corner Stone
@Amir Khalid:
He wins some net number over but more importantly he fires up those already cheering him on.
benw
But would he make the trains run on time? Probably not.
Glad that protestor was okay.
Corner Stone
I’m starting to consider the possibility that after Trump wins the R nomination he will have a press conference deep in the general election and say, “What kind of racist assholes are all these GOP voters? *This* is what you want to vote for? Well, too bad chumps I am dropping out. Ashton, time to let them know what they’ve won.”
jl
@Amir Khalid: I think it helps plenty for some GOP primaries. I hope, and expect, it hurts him fatally in the general election.
debbie
@jl:
For all my hatred of the GOP, that’s a bit of an unfair statement. It’s peculiarly Trump, though the GOP risks being overwhelmed by all these White Thugs.
Suzanne
We finalized our Thanksgiving menu today, and let me just say that I will need some larger pants for my fat ass.
MattF
@Amir Khalid: No doubt here will be an audience for Trump– some percentage of the electorate. And, by the same token, there will be an audience for Carson (and Cruz). The $64 question is whether those percentages have a ceiling. And no one knows the answer to that.
NotMax
@Suzanne
Muu-muus have never gone out of fashion. Just sayin’.
;)
jl
@debbie: I agree Trump is vile. But I do remember seeing footage of some GOPer stomping on the head of protester who fell, or was shoved, down to the ground in a previous election. And she was not doing anything much more than standing there with a sign. Grabbing peoples’ signs and shoving them is not new.
What is new IMHO, and vile, is Trump jumping in and saying that maybe what the riled up GOPers did was a good thing.
Corner Stone
@debbie:
Sorry, but no. Remember the curb stomping Rand Paul supporters put on the MoveOn person?
The GOP has been relying on violence and violent intimidation for decades. Guns at the polls, etc?
Gin & Tonic
@Suzanne: Lucky you, though, you can wear a skirt. I’d get some funny looks from my mother-in-law if I did.
Gin & Tonic
@NotMax: Outside of Hawaii they have.
Mike in NC
Can’t help but think back to the McCain/Palin rallies in 2008, where at least one time when Obama’s name was mentioned, somebody in the crowd shouted “Kill him!”
debbie
@jl: @Corner Stone:
No, I’d blocked that out. Thanks for pulling me back from the ledge.
Corner Stone
@Suzanne:
I’ve been seriously considering picking up some of the fashion items schrodinger’s cat mentioned when she recently needed to attend a formal ceremony. They sounded awesome and very free-ing.
NotMax
@Gin & Tonic
That’s just jealousy because you have better legs than she.
Schlemazel
I posted this on FB this AM:
A leader who wants people of a certain religion to carry a label, followers who beat people who disagree with their leader . . . I wonder if there is any historical precedent for this sort of thing?
Funny but I don’t see this time as farce.
jl
@Corner Stone: Yep, that is the incident I remember.
And, hey, John Oliver met his military veteran wife hiding from GOP security guards chasing him through the halls at a GOPer convention. They had threatened to detain and persuade the cops to arrest him for nosing around and crashing meetings. Simple ejecting a reporter (the Best BS News Team on Earth had press credentials, IRC) from said meetings was not enough.
PsiFighter37
@Gin & Tonic: I have no love for Jersey, but I dare him to go repeat that in the streets of Hoboken and Jersey City.
delk
A project I was part of is finally having it’s opening reception December 1st –World AIDS Day
I’m the third one down with my black and white rescue dog, Gav!
When Dogs Heal
Germy
I’m just glad nobody at the rally tried to shoot him.
sandtu2001
It would be easy to keep track of Mooslims if we had them wear clothes with a red crescent on the outside and we could also tatoo an ID number on their arm. I’m sure Donald’s and his supporters would be in favor of that. Anyone know if this has been tried before?
Bobby Thomson
@Corner Stone: It’s not a long con, unless it’s a very long one. Trump has a history of racism going back several years.
jl
@debbie:
” Thanks for pulling me back from the ledge. ”
I wouldn’t want to pull you off from the ledge over the evolution of the GOP. And thanks to Trump’s response, I think the ledge just got narrower. But we all need to figure out what to do about it. Can’t stay on the ledge forever, and need alternative courses of action.
Ultraviolet Thunder
Violent knuckleheads have always been there. Trump is just a magnet for them, and when they’re grouped together they act dumber and violenter.
jl
@Schlemazel: I welcome our new overloard. Juanoldito Trumpolinion.
Edit: We need to worry about how his Evita will do after Trump retires from power. She is pretty and seems nice.
Tommy
@Gin & Tonic: I heard this just the other day. WTF. Maybe I am watching liberal media like CNN and ABC but I don’t recall that happening.
Steeplejack (tablet)
@delk:
Good-looking pooch!
sharl
The first dozen or so comments in that al.com link to the interview of protester Mercutio Southall are about what you’d expect (…never read the comments…NEVER read the comments…).
On Twitter, Elias Isquith is being corrected regarding the source of the quote he modified for his tweet – they say it was Sinclair Lewis, not Upton Sinclair. It turns out that apparently isn’t right either. The history of that very apt phrase is apparently somewhat complicated.
Germy
Open thread? I’ve been enjoying the Mills Brothers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0ngRaUyXvE
Old Man of the Mountain (live performance 1933)
Before Trump was born.
Josie
@delk: Great picture and a very intelligent looking dog.
bystander
Today’s highlight of MTP was Kasich talking to The Toddler as if he were…well, a toddler. “You need to calm down.” Kasich didn’t like having to explain how his Department of Judeo-Christian Propaganda was going to fit in with the First Amendment.
As for Trump’s rallies resembling certain political rallies of the first half of the 20th century, I’m shocked.
goblue72
@jl: That should be “met his inexplicably hot military veteran wife”.
The Fat Kate Middleton
@delk: Such beautiful photos. Thank you for sharing.
Schlemazel
@jl:
I thought AL’s ‘brownshirt’ title best fit. Though to me the Dumpster is a lot more Mussolini, a lot of bluster very little ability. The sad part is I could see him winning; granted I am noted for my bleak outlook (how ya doing Omnes?) but there is no reason he should be even this close. It makes me very unhappy for my country to see it so full of so many little Nazis.
Suzanne
@Corner Stone: Shalwar kameez?
Germy
Will we ever reach a point where the GOP gets so… crazy…. that the villagers wake up and stop covering for them?
Tommy
@bystander: I thought Kasich might be the only adult Republican running. Then I saw him today on MTP and I realized that nope, he is just as insane as the rest of them.
Debbie
@jl:
I don’t know if anything can be done at this point. I’ll listen to Glenn Beck and he’s just encouraging this anger. At some point someone will break the law and not be able to hide behind freedom of speech or religion, but I’d hope no innocents are hurt.
Suzanne
@Gin & Tonic: Truth. Though, really, all clothing is small torture.
Yesterday, Spawn the Elder was being a brat while we were waiting for or brunch to come, and I called her on it, and she says (in all seriousness), “Sorry. I’m sorry. It’s just that I’m hangry and I have to be wearing pants right now.”
I understood.
goblue72
@Germy: The Villagers would cover a lynching if it meant good ratings.
Kathleen
@Ultraviolet Thunder: According to the book Dallas 1963, well heeled and well dressed proper Republican country club ladies attacked LBJ and Lady Bird with signs in either a hotel lobby or convention center, so it’s been a Repub thing for a while it seems.
Corner Stone
@Germy:
HA! Are you kidding? This is exactly what they live for! The crazier these nuts are, the more hot takes that can be had. The more nutty, inflammatory quotes they can go on other TV shows to talk about. The more debates about what exactly the GOP can do about the outsider upstarts.
It’s paradise.
Germy
@goblue72: Sad but true.
Tommy
@Debbie: I like to think positive things about people. I really do. But I think the hate of the far right is playing to a group of our population that agree with them.
Germy
Every once and a while this site goes blank. Is anyone else experiencing this?
Schlemazel
@Germy:
There was more print opposition to those other guys in the 1920s & 30s but the big guys, those most aligned with the industrialists and money people never issued a peep. I expect our obsequious national media to never change
Kathleen
@Germy: I don’t think so.
Ultraviolet Thunder
@goblue72:
This right here. It’s about the horserace, no matter if it’s a thoroughbred against a broken down nag. They’ll find drama in it somehow.
redshirt
@Germy: Yes, there have been frequent database time outs the last week, with multiple, seemingly random occurrences per day. It’s not you, it’s BJ.
Schlemazel
@Germy:
yeah, plus the err message, it seems to come back right away but it blitzes out every so often
scav
Quite a little spiritual strip tease they’re running, turning on, arousing and firing up their base votes.
Very revealing. Apparently the slow, suggestive peeling off of the facades isn’t part of the repertoire, or, if they really have timed this all and have still more moral and constitutional prohibitions to shed and toss about the stage for another whole year . . .
GHayduke (formerly lojasmo)
@Suzanne:
Ha!
Davis X. Machina
Well, that should wrap up the nomination…
Trump’s found the magic formula.
The Democratic bargain, for years, was “We’ll provide a rudimentary social provision, against sickness, and old age, and extremes of poverty, via pensions, nutrition, education, etc. But the price is, ix-nay on on the igotry-bay”.
The Republican bargain, for years, was “We’ll let you get your hate on, but the price is, the money, all the money, goes up, not, down — you get to die old, sick, and ignorant”.
Trump’s telling the slice of the population who think Velveeta is cheese, and whose world view is circumscribed by their mall’s access road, that they can have it all: they get to keep their rudimentary social provision, and they the green light to get their hate on.
Why wouldn’t he be running away with it? Trump’s offering the political version of the checkout-magazine “Eat all you want, and lose 40 pounds” diet.
Steeplejack (tablet)
@Germy:
What platform? And does it go to a page with the address “About:blank”?
Schlemazel
@Davis X. Machina:
man are you wrong! As recent studies have shown the result is you don’t get to be old, you die sooner, still sick and broke just not old.
Chris
@Corner Stone:
HA! Are you kidding? This is exactly what they live for! The crazier these nuts are, the more hot takes that can be had. The more nutty, inflammatory quotes they can go on other TV shows to talk about. The more debates about what exactly the GOP can do about the outsider upstarts.
The more violent and crazy the Republican Party gets, the more frantically the media will explain how terrifying it is that Both Sides Do It and Democrats Are Worse.
Mr. Twister
@Davis X. Machina: Ding ding ding … we have a winner.
Anoniminous
@Davis X. Machina:
heh
This
Tommy
@Davis X. Machina: Yes. Trump is doing a modern day version of Huey Long.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Germy:
No, it’s good for ratings.
jl
@Davis X. Machina: Good points.
Trump’s weaknesses in a general election are that the country as a whole has moved a lot more on race and ethnic bigotry than the GOP primary votertariate has, so the grand bargain may seem offensive and weird and pointless to many general election voters.
And Trump’s very success may hinge on his ability to spot and appeal to suckers and chumps who will swallow eagerly BS that turns off most voters in the general election. Trump knows he can say stuff in the primary like ‘Hey, I can learn foreign policy and national security on the job, I’ll get the best most fantastic people!” That has long been a crutch for a candidates weaknesses, but hasn’t worked unless the candidate has shown some willingness at self-education before the campaign, and can say something half-way intelligent. Trump seems to know he is appealing to people whose reasoning runs like “Hey, we know he will make America great again, he put it on his hat. IT’S ON HIS HAT!!”.
Davis X. Machina
@Tommy: Loverly, in other words, the second coming of the only real fundamental threat to the American Republic between, say, Jeff Davis, and the present day.
Roger Moore
@NotMax:
Neither have Mau-maus, which gets us back to Trump.
Schlemazel
@jl:
But Hilary is a tax and spend liberal who won’t be tough on terror so there is that.
lamh36
Apparently Trump is now tweeting out “statistics” about Black on Black crimes, that are entirely false, but I’m sure are being bandied about on Faux News and forwarded emails of the usual idiots.
Davis X. Machina
@jl: I don’t want a Trump who’s a long-shot general election candidate. I want a Trump who’s a no-shot general election candidate.
Too much shit can happen…
Does Obama win if the market doesn’t flatline in the late summer or early fall of ’08?
Does Obama win if Al Qaeda truck-bombs a couple of food courts in the late summer or early fall of ’08.
Too much shit can happen.
I want to belt-and-suspender this next election.
Keith G
Lot’s o’ weirdness go’in round.I figure late in the day Tuesday, March 15 might be a good time to look seriously at who in the GOP might well finish this out.
lamh36
On a less stupid note…
For your eating pleasure, a recipe…for
NOLA Style Stuffed Bell Peppers.
If ya try it, let me know what ya think.
Betty
@delk: Beautiful.
jl
@Davis X. Machina: I very enthusiastically agree. If the draft Romney movement goes begging for money, I will throw them some bucks. But that will be run by rich white guys, so they will have enough money to fail all by themselves.
I thought after the lesson administered by W and his gang of crooks and incompetents, with McCain and Romney running, we’d put a floor on GOP disaster potential for awhile. I was wrong.
Anoniminous
@Tommy:
I doubt Long would have won the Democratic Party nomination in ’36. The Democratic Party was a Top/Down organization then with the various city machines, elected officials, and state parties having the real say.
mclaren
Shorter Donald Trump.
Schlemazel
@lamh36:
I love stuffed peppers & will try this but will substitute sausage for the burger. Thanks for sharing!
bystander
Even more sickening than the repubs is the media. The rampant fearmongering they’re engaged in brings to mind their insanity during the Ebola “crisis”. I expect repubs to be lying liars willing to sell everyone out for a few gold coins. I never thought I’d see the media re-playing their role in Orson Welles’ War of the Worlds on a daily basis. And so boldly.
Tommy
@lamh36: I think somebody broke into my kitchen and stole my recipe. Almost exact without the shrimp.
Schlemazel
@mclaren:
sorry, link no workie
Anne Laurie
@Corner Stone:
Prince Rand’s frat-bros are dangerous like a pack of jackals is dangerous — they’re nasty little predators, but they need a gang behind them to find their courage. You can usually stare them down, because they don’t want to take on a challenger that might injure them enough to interfere with their day job.
Trump’s supporters are dangerous like a hippo is dangerous — they’re weighty, insulated, territorial, and stupid. They get mean when they feel like they’re being challenged, and their natural herbivorous habits don’t mean they can’t kill you. In fact, I’ve read that hippos kill more humans every year than the next several species of predators put together, because outside of high-class gated communities people living in proximity to hippos have to go where the hippos are (water sources) and you can’t reason with the big dumb bastids.
Gun-waving Cruz fans or curb-stomping Randinistas are self-identifying minorities, IMO. Trump voters are every dumb willfully ignorant gated-community aspirant and proud Walmart shopper, charging and chomping at every strange noise or unusual sight because it might be a threat.
The GOP “establishment” is shitting itself, because it’s been nurturing these herds for years, secure in their supposition that they were after all just big dumb grass-eaters who kept the Democrat hoi polloi at a safe distance. Now Derp Fuhrer is lining the herds up and pointing them in the same direction, and that’s towards the gates of the RNC.
jl
Trump (Again) Refuses To Rule Out Independent Bid For The Presidency
[note: today, Nov 22, 2015 CE]
“I’m going to have to see what happens. I will see what happens. I have to be treated fairly,” Trump said. “When I did this, I said I have to be treated fairly. If I’m treated fairly, I’m fine. All I want to do is (have) a level playing field.”
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/trump-independent-bid-presidency
And Trump knows he is a winner, a supergenius, a master deal maker of intergalactic proportions. So, I think I know how Trump defines ‘level playing field’ and ‘treated fairly’.
Edit: Count me astonished the RNC punked itself with its dumbshit pledge stunt. I doubt having bunch of RNC or sugar daddy billionaire PR flacks ganging up on Trump will count as ‘treated fairly’.
Anoniminous
@Keith G:
The new rules the GOP put in state if a candidate gets 20% or more of the vote gets all the delegates if no other candidate gets 20%. They did this to counteract what happened to Romney. What it may end up doing, along with Citizens United, is throwing the nomination to Trump.
SiubhanDuinne
@delk:
What wonderful photographs! Wish I could see the entire exhibit. Thanks for sharing, and please scritch Gav between the ears for me.
EriktheRed
So was that one of (t)Rump’s token black supporters helping out in roughing up the protester or a hired security goon?
Schlemazel
@Anne Laurie:
Like the industrialist of 1920s Germany the leaders still think they can control this mob, still believe they control the monster & not the other way around. They can be shown to be wrong but it will cost us all dearly
jl
@Anoniminous: It the GOP primary scheme does backfire, goes to show what turning one’s life over to dishonest gimmicks, stunts and cons leads to.
EriktheRed
@jl:
Are you talking about the 2004 RNC convention, maybe?
JPL
WHOA… We’re back…
I didn’t break it.
sharl
It’s alive…
SiubhanDuinne
Oh look. Balloon Juice is back.
debbie
Surprise, surprise!
Iowa Old Lady
@JPL: It looks like Erik the Red broke it.
Baud
That’ll teach us to mock Trump.
Davebo
I must say the new gluten free blog is a bit twitchy.
Germy
The Great BJ Black Of 2015.
I imagine nine months from now there’ll be an uptick in births. Balloon-Juice Blackout Babies.
Baud
I felt a great disturbance in the Juice, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.
Nemo_N
CNN is billing it as “Protester Gets Roughed Up at Trump Rally”. Yep, no quotation marks, they ran with Trump’s narrative outright.
BobS
So was the answer to the plaint “Because it’s safer and easier to shit on your friends”?
OzarkHillbilly
@JPL: You too, huh? Apparently not everyone lost BJ for the morn.
Matt McIrvin
@Davis X. Machina:
Historically, the reason this combination doesn’t dominate US politics is that rich people don’t like it. Trump is a rich person so in theory this problem might not matter so much to him, but because he gets free publicity by being a celebrity clown act, he hasn’t actually had to dump a lot of his own money into the campaign yet. It’ll be interesting to see if he does.
Elizabelle
My name is Elizabelle, and I am a Balloon Juice-aholic.
Missed you guys! Good morning.
Elizabelle
@delk: Wonderful project. Good to see you and the pup.
Patricia Kayden
So the media is going to still pretend that Trump is a valid candidate with the appropriate demeanor to be President of the most powerful country in the world? When do they call him out for his fascism, bigotry, and outsized ego?
That Republicans are okay with Trump says it all about how low that party has fallen.
BobS
@Tommy: Not really — Trump’s shtick is more Charles Coughlin than Huey Long.
rikyrah
it was nothing but a Klan rally.
GregB
I don’t believe this anti-Trump propaganda for one minute. Donald Trump himself said he has very good relations with The Blacks.
Why would he lie?
bemused
@rikyrah:
That’s for sure. I’m picturing a photoshop of Trump in a brownshirt uniform and white hood with opening above eyeholes for his hair flap combover.
LanceThruster
Trump’s Brownshirt Tribute Bund.
schrodinger's cat
@Corner Stone: You can wear a dhoti.. What you see in this song in Devdas is the the Bengali version. There are as many versions of draping a dhoti as there are of the sari. Not recommended for New England winters but might just work in Texas.
Shana
While what happened at the Trump rally was clearly horrible as everyone above me has stated, there was something that jumped out at me reading his comments after the fact: he referred to his “fans.” Not his supporters, his fans.
Librarian
@Kathleen: Wasn’t Adlai Stevenson attacked the same way?
J R in WV
When I read this yesterday, I created a comment about Nazi brown-shirts beating up a harmless opponent. It was historically accurate, and described Il Douche as a would be dictator, etc, etc.
Went on to yellow stars of David, and crescents to visually mark the untrustworthy “muuslims” and camps and tattoos and rail cars full of starving, frozen corpses.
I saved it to my “clipboard” before I hit “submit” but that didn’t help when the site’s database went away until, what, 6 am this morning?
So all there will be is this placeholder for my Nazi tirade. The Donald can’t even get the trains repaired and installed, much less running on time!
Paul in KY
@Tommy: I think it’s more a modern version of Father Coughlin.
boatboy_srq
@jl:
This is Trump’s biggest strength: the ability to use plain language that the establishment hasn’t dared (all while using dogwhistle to imply all the things Trump says in plain language). The actions of the Trump crowd are completely withing the GOTea norm. Trump’s acceptance of that behavior is what the GOTea rank-and-file have been demanding of the established candidates for several elections; their flocking to Trump is as much about being allowed to act out their bigotry as it is about their disgust at pols who can’t say something without resorting to what is to them mealymouthed dogwhistle to express it. The idea that what they say is hateful, ignorant, bigoted and otherwise disgusting isn’t relevant here: what is relevant is that in Trump they finally have a candidate willing to give them the permission to be the bigoted hateful wankers that their party has made them.