A sinister and deadly wager lies underneath former President Donald Trump's false claims that Democrats steal federal emergency funding, a new political analysis contends.
It's the same gamble then-President Trump took in 2020 as COVID-19 ravaged the nation, Salon's Amanda Marcotte argued Thursday: he's betting his "lies and conspiracy theories" will energize more supporters than they kill.
"At the heart of Trump's pandemic lies was a sociopathic calculation: His lies and conspiracy theories would offset the loss of MAGA voters to COVID deaths," Marcotte wrote. "Trump is making the same bet again."
Marcotte bases her argument on claims from Trump and running mate Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) that President Joe Biden has misdirected Federal Emergency Management Agency funds too support undocumented immigrants.
"He's spraying lies about the federal response that have rapidly spread throughout social media, convincing his followers to take risks with their own safety," she wrote.
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"His lies will kill people. He doesn't care, though, because he's betting that he can offset the losses by using these lies to turn out more voters."
Marcotte details several reasons this "gross" and "deadly" claim enraged her beyond the cost of human life she fears.
For one, it relies on what Marcotte describes as an implicit falsehood — and points as proof to the list of Republicans who voted against FEMA funding weeks ago and Project 2025 plans to decimate the agency should Trump win.
"There's the underlying implication that Republicans want to help," Marcotte wrote. "It's a lie."
For another, the false claim foreshadows a grim future should MAGA voters hand Trump the White House in 2025, according to Marcotte's analysis.
A re-elected Trump would continue to spread fear and confusion to justify seizing more power than the Constitution allows, the columnist wrote.
"Chaos is to his benefit, so he'll try to increase it at every turn," Marcotte wrote. "Keeping people paranoid, confused, and unwilling to trust even basic information is standard operating procedure for anyone who aspires to be an authoritarian dictator."