September 13, 2020: Trump Looks Forward to Crushing Insurrection!

9/13/20: Apparently the pressure of lying to protect Donald J. Denier proves too much for Michael Caputo.

Michael Caputo, in happier days, without the guns and ammo.

 

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Right-wing nuts talk about “sedition” and “insurrection.”

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Sunday night, in an epic Facebook meltdown, Caputo starts to blather about scientists at CDC and Health and Human Services who are fomenting “sedition.” Left-wing hit squads are forming, he says. “And when Donald Trump refuses to stand down at the inauguration, the shooting will begin. The drills that you’ve seen are nothing,” he warns. “If you carry guns,” he tells his right-wing fans, “buy ammunition, ladies and gentlemen, because it’s going to be hard to get.” 

To those who heard his rant, it was clear that Caputo was falling apart. “There are hit squads being trained all over this country” to mount armed opposition to a second term for Mr. Trump, he said. They were, in fact, coming for Caputo himself. And those scientists with their science! People “deep in the bowels of the C.D.C.” he said, were walking “around like they are monks” and “holy men.” But their religion was false. They were engaged in “rotten science.”

 

Worst of all, Caputo insisted, “There are scientists who work for this government who do not want America to get well, not until after Joe Biden is president. … To allow people to die so that you can replace the president is a grievous venial sin, venial sin,” Mr. Caputo insisted. He was so badly rattled he forgot that venial sins are minor; and only mortal sins are tickets to damnation. 

“And these people are all going to hell,” he added, to emphasize whatever unhinged point he was trying to make. 

Finally, he admitted what was painfully clear. He said his “mental health” had “definitely failed.” The rising death toll from Covid-19 was getting to him. “You are not waking up every morning and talking about dead Americans,” he moaned.

 

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AROUND THAT SAME TIME, another unhinged member of Team Trump was showing up on TV screens. This time it was the president, who appeared on Judge Jeanine Pirro’s Sunday show. 

Pirro is an even bigger hack than Caputo. So she was right at home asking Trump what he would do if Americans rose up in protest on Election Day. 

Assuming, of course, he won.

 

Dictator Don wasn’t bothered by the possibility of mass protest. He didn’t stop to wonder how we had reached a point where many Americans won’t believe the outcome in November. He wasn’t bothered by the fact so many voters weren’t sure the election will be fair. Pirro certainly didn’t ask if he thought his comments about “rigged” elections and stolen votes might play into this mess. 

“We’ll put them down very quickly if they do that,” Dictator Don said, sounding like some Venezuelan strongman. “We have the right to do that. We have the power to do that, if we want,” he said. 

“We,” the president said. The question was: “Who is ‘We?’” And who will be the “We” he puts down? 

“Look, it’s called insurrection,” he continued. “We just send in, and we do it very easy. I mean, it’s very easy. I’d rather not do that because there’s no reason for it, but if we had to, we’d do that and put it down within minutes.” 

No American presidential election has ever been contested with bloodshed. Trump seems to be looking forward to that day.

In Egypt, the government put down election protests in 2013, and killed 904.

 

POSTSCRIPT: Caputo ends up apologizing to scientists at CDC for his tirade. He announces he will be taking a 60-day medical leave of absence. That means, I imagine, he’ll still be paid.