Just in time for Halloween, Trump brings criminals, spoilers, clowns and fascists | The Homestretch

Donald Trump is famous for projecting his failures on others.

He falsely accused the Biden administration of spending disaster relief funds on services for immigrants when that was something his administration did.

In 2016, Trump called then-political rival Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) “Lyin’ Ted” and then told thousands of lies while in the White House.

In 2020, Trump cried about election interference, but he got indicted in state and federal court for widespread efforts to overturn the will of the people.

Trump spent much of this campaign blaming the Biden administration for “migrant crime.” Never mind the data shows immigrants are significantly less likely to commit crimes than U.S. citizens.

More to the point, the conservative Cato Institute found more convicted criminals were released during the Trump administration than during Joe Biden’s term.

In fact, between January 2017 to February 2020, the Trump administration released over 58,000 convicted criminals into the United States, including over 8,600 violent criminals and 306 murderers, according to the Cato Institute.

On average, Trump released twice as many criminals each month as Biden. Some went on to commit violent crimes.

Somehow those details are missing from Trump’s deceptive TV ads and rants demonizing immigrants.

In 2016, thousands of voters disenchanted by the choice between Trump and Hillary Clinton, turned to a third-party option: Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate.

It seemed like a harmless protest vote. But if Stein voters in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin had cast their ballot for Clinton, then she would have been the first woman president. Oh, but her emails!

What a different world it would have been. The country could have avoided the embarrassing chaos, corruption, and incompetence of Trump. The U.S. Supreme Court would not be stacked with agenda-driven hacks overturning precedents like Roe v. Wade, granting presidential immunity, and allowing voter suppression.

And Trump, 78, likely would not be putting the country through another exhausting, shallow and hate-filled campaign.

But with another close election looming, Stein is back on the ballot. She has zero chance of winning. Her own family doesn’t support her. Yet, Stein — a far left progressive — could tilt the election to Trump again.

Why play spoiler with so much to lose?

This much is clear: Russia views her as a useful idiot. In 2016, Russia launched a social media blitz aimed at getting Black people and far left progressives to vote for Stein.

In 2015, Stein attended a dinner with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Michael Flynn, who briefly served as Trump’s national security adviser and pleaded guilty twice to lying to the FBI. (He was later pardoned by Trump.)

Stein was also endorsed by David Duke, a former grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. Much of her platform is aimed at appealing to progressives unhappy with the war in Gaza, even though Trump would be much worse for Palestinians.

Trump is also a fan. In June, when Biden was still the nominee, Trump said he liked Stein “very much” because she “takes 100% from Biden.” Steve Bannon, a Trump adviser who just got released from prison, said Stein is key to Trump winning the election.

So, a vote for Stein is a vote for Trump.

The thought of a twice-impeached, convicted criminal in the Oval Office is disturbing enough. But the grifters, henchmen, and extremists who would fill a second Trump administration are even worse.

Trump said he would put the increasingly unhinged and dangerous Elon Musk in charge of a new government efficiency office.

Other possibilities include Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in charge of public health and far-right provocateur Laura Loomer running White House communications. Think anti-vaxxer overseeing a pandemic and a conspiracy theorist providing public information.

Round up the usual suspects like Paul Manafort, Roger Stone, and the aforementioned Flynn and Bannon. All have pleaded guilty or been convicted of crimes and received pardons from Trump. Perfect bedfellows for a man who was criminally indicted four times.

Stephen Miller, the angry architect of Trump’s racist and draconian immigration policies, would likely oversee the plan to round up and deport millions of immigrants.

Attorney general is a key position since Trump plans to use law enforcement to go after enemies. The main requisite is loyal lapdog.

Judge Aileen Cannon is an obvious front-runner, since she dismissed Trump’s indictment for stealing classified documents and made other dubious legal rulings in his favor.

Voters beware: A confederacy of dunces awaits. When it comes to assembling the best and brightest to lead the next Trump regime, as the late Phillies manager Danny Ozark once said, the “limitations are limitless.”

Donald Trump is a fascist.

That’s what Kamala Harris told voters at a CNN Town Hall in nearby Delaware County. The reaction of outrage from Trump’s MAGA defenders was predictable, and furious. Many cited past examples of label overreach during campaigns, suggesting that this just represents business as usual.

Certainly, campaigns can spark some ridiculous rhetoric. But what’s different about Trump is that the allegations are true. Harris was not alone in her judgment. She was echoing the words of those who spent years working for the former president and know him best.

Former Trump Chief of Staff John Kelly is a decorated military veteran who took on multiple roles in the Trump administration, serving as head of the Department of Homeland Security before taking over as White House chief of staff. According to Kelly, Trump is a “fascist” who would “rule as a dictator” if reelected. Kelly also said that Trump stated a desire for his own generals to operate like the ones who served Hitler.

Kelly is hardly the only former Trump official to sound the alarm, with the list including former Vice President Mike Pence, former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, and former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley.

If the word of those who know him best is not enough, voters can also detect Trump’s authoritarian leanings through his actions. Trump has committed to the mass deportation of immigrants if elected, with the prospect of internment camps sprouting up on American territory for the first time in 80 years. When he lost his reelection bid, he sought to circumvent the Constitution to stay in office.

As president, Trump cozied up to tyrants. His favorite world leaders include Russia’s Vladimir Putin, North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, and Hungary’s Viktor Orbán. Trump gets along with these leaders because they, like himself, care nothing for democracy, honor, or self-sacrifice. They instead embrace the ancient maxim, “the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must” and a world where bullies get their way.

Of course, as Trump himself said, “all bullies end up being weak.” Despite their claims of strength and commitment to militarism, the fascists lost World War II, just as the confederates (another group that garners substantial praise from Trump) lost the Civil War, and the Soviets lost the Cold War. If enough people are willing to stand up to them, authoritarian bullies lose.

Election Day is Tuesday.

The Homestretch is an occasional column by members of The Inquirer Editorial Board exploring the stakes in the 2024 presidential race.