Trump preps a new Red Scare

[marmar]

Trump preps a new Red Scare
As he staffs up his second administration, Trump is making decisions impulsively and relying totally on instinct

By Heather Digby Parton
Columnist
Published November 18, 2024 9:00AM (EST)


(Salon) Irecently saw the movie "The Apprentice" about the relationship between Donald Trump and his mentor Roy Cohn, the notorious lawyer who was involved in many of the mid-20th century's most high-profile political events. I don't know that the film told me anything I didn't already know but it did remind me of just how vicious Cohn was and how much Trump loved that about him. He learned his lessons well. The thru line between Cohn's nefarious career and Trump's own ruthlessness is set to manifest in this second term. It's almost as if it's all coming full circle.

....(snip)....

Facing his second term in office today, Donald Trump and his transition team have hit the ground running with a series of stunning Cabinet appointments that have knocked the political establishment for a loop. Trump is drunk with power having staged an epic comeback after leaving office as ignominiously as any president in history, being indicted for federal and state crimes as well as losing lawsuits charging him with fraud and defamation. He believes he is invincible.

According to various reports, while he's enjoying the fealty and attention of the richest man in the world who seemingly never leaves his side, he is making these decisions impulsively, totally relying on instinct which he believes are what got him to where he is today. No longer restrained by the need to get elected or fear for his freedom, he can do anything. And right now he appears to be obsessed with setting up the conditions for his revenge on the "Deep State" and the people he believes stabbed him in the back during his first term.

....(snip)....

CNN reported that just before the election the Department of Transportation received a pile of FOIA requests asking that emails and text messages pertaining to Elon Musk be turned over. Apparently, this was just the latest wave of such requests that have been received by all the various federal agencies sent by Trump-aligned groups over the last two years demanding to identify "perceived partisans." They have used a variety of methods to ferret out information, including searching for DEI programs or even just emails with the keywords "climate change" in them. CNN calls it a "massive fishing expedition." .................(more)

https://www.salon.com/2024/11/18/preps-a-new-red-scare/

[badhair77]

1. I taught "The Crucible" and we always did a deep dive into McCarthy's Red Scare

with a look at Roy Cohn. Who would think that many years later Cohn’s nasty practices would still be following us. Absolutely terrifying.