President Donald Trump’s shocking statement published Thursday demonstrated his aim to “start a race war” as a midterm strategy, Zeteo’s Martin Pengelly argued Friday, an accusation he confidently argued was “not hyperbole.”
Writing on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump called on Minnesotans to “fight back” against Somali immigrants living in the state, accusing them of stoking “violence, murder and mayhem.” He also told Minnesotans that the federal government was ready to “come to your rescue” and demanded Minnesota leaders “immediately ask for federal help.”
“Doubtless, defenders and apologists for the fascist in the White House will claim that when he writes ‘fight’ he really means ‘vote.’ If so, rubbish. Trump knows Republicans are losing and he is taking action accordingly,” Pengelly wrote in an analysis published Friday by Zeteo.
“Remember Jan. 6, 2021? That dreadful day, speaking to his supporters outside the White House, Trump told the mob to ‘fight like hell’ to block certification of his conclusive defeat by Joe Biden in the 2020 election. Nine deaths were linked to the riot that followed. Trump already has blood on his hands.”
Also this week, Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed of Michigan was targeted by both Trump and his Republican opponent, former Rep. Mike Rogers, in attacks described by Pengelly as “Islamophobic.”
“Mohammed goes back to the days of the Jihad,” Trump wrote Wednesday, addressing El-Sayed using his middle name, spelled incorrectly. “He is a RADICAL Extremist, Terrorist Sympathizer.”
Rogers likewise invoked El-Sayed’s Muslim faith during their debate Thursday, seeking to tie him to the Muslim Brotherhood, a Sunni Islamist organization — in response to a question about health care.
“There are 25 days till Election Day,” Pengelly wrote. “Things are ugly now. They are about to get uglier still.”