Desperate and Divisive, Trump Calls for a “Trump Army” to Fight “Socialist” Democrats

September 9th, 2020 - by Amanda McKay / Daily Kos & Veronica Stracqualursi / CNN

Trump Is Recruiting an “Army” to Fight the “Liberal MOB.” We Are Recruiting Volunteers to Fight for Democracy.

Amanda McKay / Daily Kos

(September 5, 2020) — Donald Trump is recruiting what he calls an “army” of volunteers to be the “President’s first line of defense when it comes to fighting the Liberal MOB.” 

That “liberal mob” is you, me, and all the Democratic voters that he wants his “army” to intimidate at polling places in Democratic areas in hopes of discouraging them from voting. 

At Daily Kos, we are fighting back with an army of our own — 100,000 volunteers to help turn out every Democratic voter possible. Our volunteers are already writing hundreds of thousands of “please vote” letters and postcards to infrequent, but Democratic, voters in swing states. They are joining vast text banking and phone banking operations to help Democratic voters in swing states request absentee ballots. Many others are engaging in peer-to-peer outreach, by getting their friends and family who live in swing states to commit to voting for Joe Biden.

In response to a nationwide poll worker shortage, over 5,000 of our activists have even signed up to volunteer as poll workers on Election Day! 

I don’t need to tell you that there is a lot at stake in this election — this is the most important election of our lifetime. That is why we are doing everything we can to win in November. That starts with recruiting over 100,000 volunteers to help get out the vote, and we are already halfway there.

Donald Trump is recruiting an “army.” Don’t believe me? Check out the Trump campaign email below. 
Trump’s “army” has one mission: suppress and intimidate voters. Trump and the Republicans are actively trying to recruit 50,000 people, including law enforcement, to act as poll watchers in key precincts across the country. It’s clear their goal is to discourage people from voting, given the fear and violence Trump has stoked in his campaign. 

TRUMP/PENCE: Keep America Great!

Friend,

This email is FOR PATRIOTS ONLY.

You’ve been identified as one of President Trump/s fiercest and most loyal defenders, and according to your donor file, you’d make an excellent addition to the Trump Army.

When you become a member of the Trump Army today, we’ll give you access to get our never-before-seen, Limited Edition Camo Keep America Great Hat.

The President wants YOU and every other member of our exclusive Trump Army to have something to identify yourselves with, and to let everyone know that YOU are the President’s first line of defense when it comes to fighting off the Liberal MOB.

These limited-edition, American-made hats are for Trump Army members ONLY. So do not pass this information on to anyone.

Please contribute $35 or more RIGHT NOW to join the Tump Army and we’ll send you your very own Camo Keep America Great Hat. [Click1.action.gop.com]

Daily Kos has already recruited nearly 45,000 volunteers to help Get Out The Vote in November, and we’re not done yet: we’ve set a 100,000 volunteer goal for ourselves. We will be recruiting volunteers every single day, from now until Election Day. And we aren’t stopping until we reach our goal of 100,000. 

Thousands of our volunteers are already hard at work helping voters in battleground states like Arizona, Michigan and Pennsylvania sign-up for mail-in ballots. Tens of thousands of volunteers are stockpiling “please vote” postcards and letters to infrequent, but strongly Democratic, voters in swing states that will be mailed out in the coming weeks. We are also recruiting volunteers to serve as poll workers, phonebank for the Biden-Harris campaign, join text banking operations, and even to be ready to take action in the event that Trump loses but refuses to concede. 

Marjorie Taylor Greene Posts Image of Herself with Gun Alongside ‘Targets’: Three Progressive Congresswomen

Veronica Stracqualursi / CNN

Greene’s Complete Statement:

Hate America leftists want to take this country down …. Politicians have failed this country. I’m tired of seeing weak, Establishment Republicans play defense. Our country is on the line. America needs fighters who speak the truth. We need strong conservative Christians to go on the offense against these socialists who want to rip our country apart. Americans must take our country back. SAVE AMERICA. STOP SOCIALISM. DEFEAT THE DEMOCRATS.

(September 4, 2020) — Republican congressional candidate Marjorie Taylor Greene on Thursday posted on her candidate Facebook page an image of herself holding a gun alongside images of Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, and Rashida Tlaib and encouraged going on the “offense against these socialists.”

“We need strong conservative Christians to go on the offense against these socialists who want to rip our country apart,” her post’s caption read.

As of midday Friday, Facebook removed the photo, saying it violated the social network’s policies.

The Georgia Republican, who has the support of President Donald Trump, has previously embraced the QAnon conspiracy theory and has a history of Islamophobic and bigoted remarks on social media. Greene is poised to be elected to Congress this fall after winning the Republican primary in a solidly Republican Georgia district.

Earlier Friday, Omar, who along with Tlaib is Muslim, said Greene’s now-deleted photo was “incitement” and demanded Facebook remove the “violent provocation.”

“Posting a photo with an assault rifle next to the faces of three women of color is not advertising. It’s incitement,” the Minnesota Democrat posted on Twitter.“There are already death threats in response to this post. Facebook should remove this violent provocation.”

Greene’s campaign told CNN in an emailed statement that those who think the picture incites violence “are paranoid and ridiculous.”

CNN reached out to the campaign Friday afternoon after Facebook removed the image.

Greene, who’s running to represent Georgia’s 14th congressional district, has railed against the three progressive Democratic congresswomen, who along with Rep. Ayanna Pressley call themselves the “Squad.”

“Hate America leftists want to take this country down,” Greene wrote in her Facebook post, which was her second one targeting the congresswomen in recent days. “Politicians have failed this country. I’m tired of seeing weak, Establishment Republicans play defense. Our country is on the line. America needs fighters who speak the truth.”

Last year, the four Democratic congresswomen — Ocasio-Cortez, Omar, Pressley and Tlaib — were the target of a controversial North Carolina billboard for a gun store. The sign faced backlash for being seen as inciting violence and was removed.

Politico reported that Greene previously wrote on social media that Muslims do not belong in government and that there is “an Islamic invasion into our government offices,” among other incendiary remarks.

CNN’s KFile reported that Greene wrote two conspiracy-laden blog posts speculating that the 2017 white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, that led to one counter-protester’s death was an “inside job” and promoting the debunked “Pizzagate” conspiracy theory that alleges some Democratic leaders are running a human-trafficking and pedophilia ring as real.

Greene told Fox News last month following her primary win that while she once read and discussed QAnon topics, she has decided to “choose another path” after encountering “misinformation.”

This story has been updated to reflect Facebook has taken down the photo.

CNN’s Brian Fung contributed to this report.

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