The day Trump was inspired by ‘The Purge’ as a prescription to tackle crime in America

Donald Trump has made similar arguments The Purge – a dystopian horror film in which murder sometimes becomes legal – as a solution to crime in the United States, stating that it could be ended in “one really violent day”.

In an extreme display of demagoguery, even by his standards, Trump drew applause from the audience in Erie, Pennsylvania, when he talked about the out-of-control crime wave, which he said was “really difficult and unpleasant.” ” manner can be terminated “immediately.” day”, or “a difficult time”.

“You see these guys coming out with refrigerators on their backs with air conditioners on them, it’s the strangest thing,” Trump said. And the police are not allowed to do their work. They are told: If you do anything, you will lose your pension. They’re not allowed to do that because the progressive left won’t let them. The progressive left wants to destroy them and destroy our country.

In a speech that caused an uproar on social media, the former president and Republican nominee said: “If you had a really difficult, unpleasant day, for example with pharmacies, where, when they start dating… “. He then deviated from that by falsely accusing Democratic candidate Kamala Harris of starting a practice in California when she was attorney general that acquitted thieves of pursuing items worth less than $950.

Politico said the comment appeared to be a reference to Proposition 47, which downgraded some violations of the law from felonies to misdemeanors and was signed by the state’s former Republican governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, four years before Harris took office .

Linking that issue to his topic, Trump added: “You saw the kids coming in with calculators. They didn’t want to go over $950. They are standing with the calculator connected. They are very, very intelligent people. They are not that stupid, but they must be taught. Now, if you had a really tough day… a tough hour, and I mean really tough. “Word will spread and it will end immediately.”

The speech sparked a wave of comparisons The Purge, A 2013 film depicts the victory of a radical new party called the New Founding Fathers of America after economic collapse, who then enact harsh policies to eliminate crime and unemployment.

John Lemire, host of MSNBC’s Morning Joe, told viewers: “(Trump) suggested there should be an hour of violence, which sounds like a plot from the movie The Purge, which is extremely dangerous. We know how. “His words have inspired violence before, for example, not just on January 6th… This is an exceptionally dangerous argument.”

In the film, the United States is said to be virtually crime and unemployment free by 2022 by following a policy of legalizing all crimes, including murder, and making emergency services unavailable for a 12-hour period every year.

Even before the comparisons, Trump’s campaign denied that his comments were a political overture.

A campaign representative told Politico that the former president was “obviously joking.” Campaign communications director Steven Cheung said Trump was reaffirming his perceived credentials as a “president of law and order.”

“She keeps reiterating the importance of enforcing existing laws,” he said, “otherwise it’s just complete chaos that Kamala Harris has created in some of these communities across the United States, especially the Attorney General (of California) ) during his time as. When he encouraged criminals.”

Trump, who was found guilty by a New York court of 34 felonies in May on charges related to payments to a porn actress, although he has insisted he is the victim of a witch hunt, has been harsh to others. Has a history of insisting on punishment. Accused of crimes.

Last year he advocated allowing police to shoot thieves. In 1989, he ran a full-page newspaper ad advocating the death penalty amid protests over the violent rape of a jogger in Central Park, New York.

It was later revealed that five black and Latino youths arrested and imprisoned for the crime were wrongly convicted.