In an arena generally reserved for ice hockey, the Donald Trump crowd was on edge. Some were on shirts with slogans like “[Expletive] Your Feelings” or, in reference to the female Democratic nominee, “Trump that Bitch.” Others had buckets of popcorn, ready for the show. When the media entourage entered, thousands erupted in boos.
Anger and hostility being the most overwhelming sentiments at a Trump rally in Cincinnati last week, a deep sense of frustration, and a belief that they are part of an unstoppable and underestimated movement, hard-core Trump followers did not believe the real estate mogul’s misfortunes had been made of his own.
They believed what Trump has told them over and over, that this election has been rigged, and if he loses, it will be because of a massive conspiracy to take him down.
At a time when trust in government was at a low point, Trump has been actively stoking fears that a core tenet of American democracy is also in peril: that you can trust what happens at the ballot box.
His supporters said that they has planned to go to their local precincts looking for illegal immigrants who may attempt to vote. They were worried that Democrats would load up buses of minorities and take them to vote several times in different areas of the city. They’ve heard rumors that boxes of Clinton votes are already waiting somewhere.
And if Trump doesn’t win, some are even openly talking about violent rebellion and assassination, as fantastical and unhinged as that may seem.
Dan Bowman, a 50 years old contractor, said of Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee, “If she’s in office, I hope we can start a coup. She should be in prison or shot. That’s how I feel about it. We’re going to have a revolution and take them out of office if that’s what it takes. There’s going to be a lot of bloodshed. But that’s what it’s going to take. . . . I would do whatever I can for my country.”
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By Prakriti Neogi
