NONE DARE CALL IT TREASON. EXCEPT TRUMP. HE'LL TOTALLY CALL IT THAT. EVEN IF IT’S NOT.
When Trump gave his SOTU address, some news media inevitably tried to rate it in terms of “Was it Presidential?” Which in this case means, “Did Trump give a reasonably coherent speech that focused on problems and solutions instead of his usual shambling improv performances where he spends most of the time praising himself, insulting his enemies and making up alt-facts as he goes along?”
Some of us were thinking, “It doesn’t matter - he’ll do what he always does when he seems to do something that seems remotely ‘Presidential’: his next speech will be a return to form.”
Sure enough:
In between testimonials from Ohioans about the benefits of the tax reform law, Trump went way off script, unleashing a series of complaints about Democrats’ chilly reaction to his recent State of the Union speech (“Can we call that treason? Why not?”) […]
And so much for his alleged call to unity.
Predictably Sarah Huckabee Sanders and other Trump fans are deploying the old “It’s just a joke, man! Lighten up, snowflake!” defense. And I’ll admit, when I heard it I got the impression that he probably meant it in the same way that Ted Nugent meant that crack about Hillary Clinton giving his AR-15 a blowjob: a throwaway comment to entertain the base. I don’t think he wants to put all the Demos in jail for it any more than Nugent literally wanted to shoot Hillary in the face. It’s basically a cheap pop for the fans, and I doubt seriously he put any thought into it beyond that.
But:
1. As much as I hate alt-universe arguments, let’s admit that the same people defending him would be having a conniption fit if (say) President Hillary made the same “joke”.
2. They would be right to do so because the POTUS doesn't get to make “jokes” like that. When you hold the highest position of authority in one of the major superpowers on the planet, people tend to take what you say seriously. That can have consequences. Think of it this way: if you think the US is supposed to be championing values like freedom and democracy and The American Way, then defining treason as everyone who didn’t applaud yr speech (even as a joke) is the opposite of that. There are dictators worldwide who actually DO put the opposition in jail for treason (whatever that may mean) who may now be thinking, “See? Even the US has our back on this.”
3. Context also matters. When you have a tendency to embrace authoritarian ideas and say authoritarian things, making jokes about “treason” isn’t all that funny - except maybe to Trump fans who actually wouldn’t mind seeing Trump’s long list of political enemies locked up for treason.
The fact that most of Trump’s authoritarian leanings haven’t managed to subvert democracy very much (so far) - as well as the fact that even if he was serious about the treason comment, he either wouldn’t act on it or would try and fail - is beside the point. The point is that words matter - words have power, and when they’re backed with authority, they have even more power to the point that even if the speaker is only kidding, there’s no guarantee his followers will take it as such.
4. Which is kind of the real issue here - the problem isn’t so much what Trump personally meant by it (or thought he meant) as what his hardcore legions of fans think he meant.
Fans like this guy.
Or this guy.
Or these guys.
Or these guys.
Or … well, you get the idea.
These people may not comprise the majority of the population, but they comprise enough of the population to make life harder for the non-white non-straight/non-cis people who have to deal with Trumpers (or the mere possibility of Trumper abuse) on a daily basis (to say nothing of the ones who are also immigrants).
And I have little doubt that at least some of them already see liberals as “traitors” to America, and would love to see them all locked up in Gitmo or deported to Mexico or whatever. Just ask Trump’s favorite radio personality Alex Jones. Or Dana Loesch and her Clenched Fist Of Truth™. Or Ann Whatshername.
5. Caveat: I suspect many of them think “treason”, “un-American” and “unpatriotic” mean the exact same thing, which of course they don’t. I suspect this because some conservatives have rolled out “whataboutism” arguments about how some Democrat politicians have accused Republicans of being “un-American” and “unpatriotic”, so why can’t Trump joke about treason?
Well, because most of them weren’t POTUS when they said it, and because - unlike actual treason - being “un-American” and “unpatriotic” aren’t crimes. They’re bog-standard clichéd political insults.
And in any case, whataboutism is a stupid defense - it’s basically saying, “Your guy did it so it’s okay of my guy does it.”
Then again, you go with what works, I guess.
You can’t say that on television,
This is dF
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