Trump’s New Battle Cry: “Lock ‘Em Up”

Oliver Contreras/CNP via ZUMA

For indispensable reporting on the coronavirus crisis and more, subscribe to Mother Jones’ newsletters.From the Washington Post:

Since writing “HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY” at 8:10 a.m. on Sunday, Trump has used his Twitter account to make or elevate allegations of criminal conduct against no less than 20 individuals and organizations….The list of purported culprits Trump has charged include two television news hosts, a comedian, at least five former officials from the FBI and Justice Department, the state of California, a broadcast television station and at least five top national security officials from President Barack Obama’s administration.
….Since taking office, Trump has casually accused multiple people of treason, ranging from former FBI director James B. Comey to the American media. He has regularly accused people of perjury or mishandling classified information, usually without evidence. He has said former secretary of state John F. Kerry “should be prosecuted” for an alleged violation of the Logan Act, a rarely invoked law preventing private citizens from conducting diplomacy on behalf of the U.S. government, due to his interactions with Iranian officials. Kerry has called Trump’s allegation “another presidential lie.”
….Trump has tweeted that top officials in the Obama administration perpetuated the “the biggest political crime in American history, by far!” He has retweeted posts calling for a wide range of people to be “handcuffed and prosecuted,” “indited,” put “in prison” and left “sitting in a cell.”

This man is the leader of the Republican Party. That’s a choice the party has made, not an inevitable fact of life. They could do something about this if they had the guts to do it. But they don’t.