Tim Walz issues dark warning about Trump’s plans for his opponents

Jesus maybe they shouldn't have fucking muzzled this guy during the election.

It became pretty clear, pretty quickly, that he was by far the more compelling candidate for president. If the Dems would put aside their obssession with only offering presidential nominations to minorities and women, they could do a lot more good for those constituencies by getting elected over empty election martyrdom. They need to be reminded that the first rule of politics is "Get Elected," not making futile, empty gestures of being "first."
- The problem is not the minority or gender association, it's the platform. People said a black man couldn't win the presidency until Obama ran as a progressive and won handily. I don't give two shits that Kamala Harris wasn't white or a man. Biden was both of those things and I didn't like him any better. I still voted for both of them because even a wet dog turd is better than Trump, but we need people to get excited about an alternative, not just vote against Trump.
- I wouldn't so much blame Democrats as a whole, but definitely Biden. He dropped out late and then "crowned" his successor. I didn't mind her all that much, compared to the orange nightmare, but I was still pretty pissed the Democrats essentially bypassed a democratic process of choosing a nominee.
- Stop spreading this bullshit. Her being a minority had nothing to do with her losing. She lost totally on her own merit. Fearmongering about minorities losing elections only creates a self-fulfilling prophecy where no minority can run. Also, they chose Biden, a straight white man, so no they don't only run minorities.

Immigrants are being loaded onto planes and shipped off to places they probably won't return from - without having even been accused of a crime, much less tried in court. Supporters of the president don't care because they're immigrants.

Now swap "immigrants" with "jews", "planes" with "trains", and "president" with "chancellor", and what do you get?

The alt-reich.
- Turd Reich
That prison in El Salvador is a damn death camp.
- Actually, the supposed Venezuelan gang (assuming it really was and wasn't just some people who were inconvenient), why did they send them to El Salvador and not Venezuela?
In some cases, to places they've never even been to.
It's purposely cruel.

We know Tim. We know.

But hey, our representatives are voting as hard as they can, right? That'll show em!

It's so frustrating. You don't have to warn anybody, it's already happening! You have to do something.
- Doing something requires courage, and the vast majority of our current Dems are feckless cowards. Most are content to hide behind their job descriptions and enjoy their free healthcare and when the time comes, deploy their golden parachutes.
Yeah, we know. But I don't think we're exactly representative of the average voter. The lack of politicians coming out and saying this shit is alarming, and we need more of it.
They are voting against their own interests, that's for sure.
- They are voting against OUR interests. They're absolutely voting for their own. At least Schumer and the other Dems that passed the CR the other day
They're voting as hard-right as they can, you mean.

It really pisses me off they were sounding the alarms during the election. Then he was elected and the majority of them just go on as if nothing of not happened.
- It's almost as though they were never serious about stopping fascism and never will be.
- That's a red flag.
Guess what. They are stupid as fuck.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MohJLPgutKQ&pp=ygUgc2FkZGFtIGh1c3NlaW4gYmFhdGggcGFydHkgcHVyZ2U%3D
I hope they can see some historic parallels. Shit can get really real in one afternoon.
They are not stupid. Trump and allies still need the illusion of democracy so they will keep the proven puppet democrat around.
For example, AIPAC happy with trump and pays democrat, a legislation need to pass, Trump tell them through AIPAC it needs to go through and will go through.
While this example is not realistic it outline the need for law and different branches to ensure the removal of lobbyist especially with foreign ties.
So yes both party are working toward the same goal of filling their pocket with money.
They good thing, before, they would be able to retired in the UK or France or somewhere nice if shit hit the fan in the US, but now leaving the US is less likely for politician so hopefully justice will get served sooner or later

There were warnings at least a year before the election, many people laid out what is to come, it was barely taken serious, mostly ignored. And even now the media and government types are doing mostly a half assed "we're stunned he's doing this, but oh well, another day another decree"

It is too late, there will come an indefinite next term of Trump's hegemony, and when he dies his son will take over as new/official king. He himself might not want to take up the title soon but when his next in line is ready it will start to be brandished about.

The writing is on the wall with how he is already tearing up any legal restrictions laid on him.

The current "proposals" for a 3rd term are only there to get people acquainted with it under the guise of "let him finish the job" but it will get hammered through, objections will not be tolerated.

I can't tell you how many times I was told I was being dramatic and/or crazy. All I have is a bunch of fuck you's for all the people who would not listen to me. I'm so angry seeing "in four years" statements when I know damn well there will be no more legit voting. I am still wanting to slap everyone for being so fucking dense to the reality. I don't think usa is worth saving at this point, everyone is just too fucking stupid and I'm tired of swimming upsteam.
I was working in D.C., on Ukraine-related issues specifically, and STILL couldn't get people to believe Trump was in Russia's pocket. Despite first-hand experience with these worthless shits. That was almost 10 years ago. I just gave up trying to convince people, but hey, how nice to be proven right, I guess. I didn't need it, I already fucking knew. It's all just depressing to watch.
The fucking MAGAts said so many times that project 2025 was not going to happen.

Political opponents are already being targeted.

They're just going to ramp it up.

An issue I see with US politics from the outside is the fact that when a party loses the candidate just disappears from the map and the party that's supposed to be the opposition to the one in power is now stuck without a leader. The Republicans changed that with Trump as he kept control over the party during Biden's tenure and that meant that the Republicans that got elected just got in the Democrats' way whenever Trump said something even if it contradicted their previous position...

The Democrats need to wake the fuck up and not wait until the last minute to choose who will be their next presidential candidate. They need someone in the driver's seat ASAP and having someone campaigning for the next four years (LIKE TRUMP DID!) would only increase their chances to make people realize how fucked up things are right now!

I think the problem with this is, nobody really wanted Biden or Harris. They were just the best we had. Like, nobody is going to listen to Harris now. But people love Trump, so he doesn't have that issue.
Edit: The democratic party does not care what their voters want, they need only provide the lesser of two evils to get votes. They believe that so much, that Harris' entire campaign was to talk about what Trump was going to do rather than what she was going to do. "Look at all these things Trumps gonna do, at least I'm not him!"
Another edit: Indeed, as multiple of you have pointed out, "the best we had" was a poor choice of words. Hell, I think even Walz was a better choice, so it's not exactly like you need to go looking far for one.
- The best we had? ...or had the most money and bullshit marketing and PR?
- Being the lesser of two evils was just not enough. The Democratic party has been failing to appeal to the working class and alienating groups of what are normally reliable Dem voters by neglecting them.
- Yes and no, even with the best candidate ever that's how US politics work.
- They were not the best by any measure.
AOC should start running right now.
- Jon Stewart/AOC ticket. He has the name recognition and could make a splash. There just aren't many people out there who could realistically fill the role.
Not just when they lose. If you have a fully successful president that does both terms they also then fuck off to obscurity. They aren't unpopular among their base, they just retire.

One of the first things the fascist playbook says to do is get rid of political opponents.

Trump's team very carefully which Court orders to initially openly defy. Lots of people don't see the urgency in defending the rights of "gang members." But what he's doing is setting the precedent that people can be sent to overseas labor camps without ANY due process.
Lots of American citizens may soon find themselves being accused of being Venezuelan gang members or agents of foreign "terrorist" groups.
- Or a member of Hamas or some other actual terrorist groups because they sent a text that said "Israel is commiting genocide"
We’re watching the Hans litten part play out.
Any violence in retaliation against then will be their rachstag and there’s no turning back.

We need more people with platforms saying this shit.

I wouldn't be surprised to see political opponents falling from windows before the next midterms.

Nah, unless some things change very quickly, he will want to make retaliation against famous political enemies very public
Falling out of windows will be reserved for lesser known journalists, citizens, and even Republican law makers that dare to speak out against any of his policies.
I imagine famous political enemies at best night experience something like Putin's wet dream from The 3rd empire novel:
"representatives of the American elite: President [George] Bush III and former presidents Bill Clinton, Bush Junior, and Hillary Clinton; current and former members of the cabinet, the House, and the Senate; bankers and industrialists; newspaper commentators and television anchors; famous attorneys and top models; pop singers and Hollywood actresses. All of them passed through Red Square in shackles and with nameplates around their necks. … The Russian government was letting its own citizens and the whole world know that Russia had fought with and vanquished not only the American army but the American civilization."
Here is a snapshot of an Atlantic article from a few years ago about the novel. It seems to quite literally be Putin's playbook sprinkled with some fanfiction about his deepest hopes and desires. The person that wrote the article is a professor in the U.S. that fled Russia and has been trying and failing to warn people about this book for years.
https://archive.is/CSBaa

Its crazy that the republicans even at this point is not impeaching him. He has definitively ignored a court order. The only lever left is impeachment to retain our system.

Its crazy that the republicans even at this point is not impeaching him.
Why? They don't give a shit about the laws. With Trump in power, they stay on his good side, they have run of the place.
The USA we all knew is now dead. There is no coming back from this. If you have money in US funds or US companies, move it. It won't be worth anything after civil war break out - and it will.
- Crazy that we're watching the death of an empire in real time. Would be kinda interesting if it weren't for the needless human suffering and that whole existential threat to civilisation thing.
- being a congressman won't mean anything if the executive controls all. this is their last chance at relevance.
- That's quite the doom and gloom take.
- Its the only *legal lever
  except according to the man in question you commit no crime when saving the country so executing him in public would be legal.
There have been a countless number of sycophants that have sold out their country throughout history. This is just another bunch of them. More sour grapes from the vines of humanity.
You underestimate how many scared and poor people actively welcome authoritarianism.

There could be several people Trump has in mind for the first political enemy to be arrested, but my money would be on Anthony Fauci. They have been setting this guy up in a very elaborate way for years, but especially since last summer.

Below is a comment I made about the autopen pardon claim, but I'm just pasting it here so that more people can be aware of some facts before Trump starts making more bs claims to justify his bs policies:

Not sure if he has already said anything about the Fauci pardon, but almost certainly will be making the argument against him too.

I wrote about it a little in the post I made and plan to update with more information in a longer follow up post.

So Biden’s pardon to Fauci is backdated to 2014, the year the NIH issued pause on funding for gain of function (GOF) research. The pause was only meant to apply to research that increased the contagion or virulence of a pathogen with enhanced pandemic potential (ePPP).

From the time the notice was issued, many scientists were worried about the use of the term GOF because most virology and vaccine research involves what is by definition GOF research. Any modification of genetic material during an experiment could meet the definition of GOF. Whether it is traditional vaccine research where genetic alteration is used to increase yields for vaccine strains or even steps of genetic modification for mRNA vaccines which don’t require an inactive or weak pathogen to create a vaccine.

Anyway, this past summer during House Oversight COVID-19 Select Subcommitee Hearings into the NIH funding for the EcoHealth Alliance collaboration with Wuhan Institute of Virology, the subcommitee asked the deputy director of the NIH this question:

Rep Lesko: “Dr. Tabak, did NIH fund gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology through EcoHealth?” Dr. Tabak: “It depends on your definition of gain-of-function research. If you’re speaking about the generic term, yes, we did…the generic term is research that goes on in many, many labs around the country. It is not regulated. And the reason it’s not regulated is it poses no threat or harm to anybody.” https://oversight.house.gov/release/hearing-wrap-up-nih-repeatedly-refutes-ecohealth-alliance-president-dr-peter-daszaks-testimony-tabak-testimony-reveals-federal-grant-procedures-in-need-of-serious-reform/

The Subcommitee claims this contradicts previous testimony given by Anthony Fauci. It seems pretty clear Fauci was referring to GOF as it was used in the 2014 NIH pause and Tabak was using it regarding the broad definition. However, the conclusion of many is that Fauci willingly misled the American public when he said the NIH does not support GOF research.

Biden has never acknowledged this is what the pardon was about, but it would be quite the coincidence if the 2014 backdate had nothing to do with this.

And of course the Heritage Foundation has jumped on to the we need to end dangerous GOF funding train https://www.heritage.org/public-health/commentary/president-trump-should-reinstate-president-obamas-moratorium-risky

Out of a concern for public safety of course.

- Yeah there is a big list of people he might choose from, but I just feel like there has been such an obvious attempt lately to steer public attention towards Fauci and the NIH. I haven't heard Hilary's name mentioned in a while. I think the first will be a recipient of more recent public attention to test the waters. If the public doesn't push back on it then he starts going after anyone he wants. This is why it's never a good idea to encourage people to be quiet and keep their heads down when their head aren't on the chopping block (yet).
  They are pushing some very questionable and some outright incorrect theories as fact, so that when the "hammer of justice" comes down on Fauci, the public isn't just expecting it, they're cheering it.
  https://heartland.org/publications/85800/
  https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columnists/3353058/experts-anthony-fauci-have-themselves-to-blame-for-distrust-of-institutions/
  And then this one 🙄 jfc: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/restoring-america/faith-freedom-self-reliance/3350311/coordinated-plan-to-hide-governments-transgender-mice/
Nah Fauci is powerless to do anything, and is useful as a punching bag. The first political opponent trump arrests will be a Republican, that's the real danger to him.
- Im expecting all the first ringers last term, who have since spoke put: Pence is top of lost, imo.
  Just waiting for the shoe to drop on the Long Knives.

We've all been understanding this even while Walz et al were talking about how they might run in a few years.

Only argument is I see no way trump trusts don jr with even being a figurehead.

They're gonna put in Barron because he knows how to turn on a computer. That's a step of competency above his other sons. Also, they'll want the youngest one in for the longest-lived dictatorship.
Further, Barron has made inroads in the right wing podcast ecosystem. The other Trump boys are still living in the 90's, they'll want someone who understands the modern era and can influence it.
- Barron is really good with cyber
- Long term maybe, but short term Barron is too young and the Constitution isn't ambiguous about the age limits - and even if it's worth little more than toilet paper it serves the Republicans to keep it around as a zombie so they can keep pretending this is a democracy.
He prefers to groom Ivanka anyway.

Democrats won't do a thing. They are in on it. They have been ratcheting towards oligarchy little by little.

They need to be replaced.

Most of them, but there are ones like him who still have integrity. Don't toss them aside.
- AOC and Bernie are on tour. Walz might be ok, but he’s still on probation until he shows true spine, not just very good rhetoric.
  I would very much like to know of other Federal office holders we can count on. I am serious, not baitin’. Looking to find some hope and figure out who to boost or help.
- Oh no didn't you get the memo? Democrats are worse and more to blame for what's currently happening than Republicans and you're a dirty liberal if you disagree.
  No nuance allowed.
- All I've seen him do so far is talk and be part of a losing Presidential ticket. What is he doing?

I wonder if Walz will become the George Washington of America, while AOC and Bernie can be Founding Parents for other aspects of a reformed nation?

I formally invite, on behalf of all Canadians, both AOC and Bernie to come to Canada.

The only solace is that the fuckers who are feeding us to the machine are the ones who are going to get minced first.

Spineless fucks.

It's really crazy that they think capitulation will save them and we already have tons of examples of groups complying with this batshit administration and then immediately getting punished anyway.
- This is what happens when people refuse to learn about history. We are doomed to repeat the same mistakes, and instead of facing it head-on, people would rather ignore it or change it entirely.

Yeah I gotta say, avenues and windows of action are closing. We're running out of choices if we dont want to live under a dictatorship for the next twenty or more years.

We're also at a terrifying point in terms of the technology they have access to.
AI and drones are going to enable some horrible things.
It used to take effort to run surveilance on dissenters. Used to take men pulling the trigger. Now, who knows?
- Laser pointers and masks will become the norm. Can't silence what you can't identify.

I formally invite, on behalf of all Canadians, Both Mr. Waltz and Mrs. Harris to come to Canada.

Could trump be our hoover/Reagan and Walz end up being our Roosevelt/Gore?

History rhymes, but I'm not saying we're gonna see ground breaking changes that bring the federal government back from the brink. Walz just seems like a possible candidate for garnering mass approval across the board and potentially unopposed enough to social programs to maybe implement some.

I find it odd that you equate Roosevelt and Gore? Is it because of his climate work?
- Yeah, mostly. I understand they were politically very different. My main lense I was looking through in this case was progressive policy vs regressive policy.

I wonder from time to timecwhat method the Trumpists are going to adopt for killing their opponents.

Defenestration is self-evidently effective, but it's already Putin's schtick. And while it might appeal to Trump to essentially pay tribute to his idol, I think it's more likely that he'd want his own brand.

The US being what it is, some sort of handgun "suicide" would be on-brand, and courts have already shown that they're willing to let things like "suicide" by gunshot to the back of the head or "suicide" by multiple gunshot slide.

I almost expect them to use concentration camps and gas chambers, counting on the media to refuse to cover it at all for fear that somebody might make a Nazi comparison.

We'll see...

Prison neglect, violence by police, stochastic terror, criminalizing healthcare
- Those are some of the bits of structural violence with which they intend to kill people broadly.
  I'm wondering more about the specific techniques they're going to use for targeted killings - like, for instance, what they're going to do when Trump decides he wants Tim Walz killed.

This is the same Tim Walz that champions civil disarmament? Now he's warning us about the very thing that the right to bear arms is supposed to protect the people against. Glad Tim and his party didn't succeed in making us all impotent in the face of this fascist regime.

This is the same Tim Walz that champions civil disarmament?
Source?
- https://mn.gov/governor/newsroom/press-releases/?id=1055-578396
Aren't there still more guns than people in the US? What disarmament?
- Never said anything about them being successful, but the intent is plain to see for those not being willfully obtuse.