Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez fed into the irrational fear-mongering many in her Democratic Party have been using to denounce President-elect Donald Trump’s massive victory over Vice President Kamala Harris, making irrational claims about entering a period of “fascism” and “authoritarianism.”
The New York Democrat posted a message to followers on her social media accounts when it became apparent that Trump would win Tuesday evening.
“I’m not here to sugarcoat what we all are about to collectively experience, but I think that what we can do to prepare is build community. We do not have a choice. We don’t have a choice. Our choice is to build. Our choice is to continue to fight. Our choice is to win. Our choice is to have each other,” she said.
“We are about to enter a political period that will have consequences for the rest of our lives. We cannot give up. We now find ourselves in a time in history that has precedent, and we find ourselves, I believe, in a time where there are, let’s say, peers in history of mass movements of people that mobilize to protect one another in times of fascism and authoritarianism. And this is the era that we are poised to enter,” she claimed without any evidence.
“Donald Trump has talked about turning the military on U.S. citizens that he deems his domestic political enemies. Authoritarians and people that he affiliates closely with and strongmen abroad in regimes like that, it is not uncommon to jail political dissidents or legislative opponents. This is the world that we very realistically may be entering. And the way that we do everything that we can to prevent this is by building a very strong social fabric and social infrastructure,” she said.
For the record, U.S. law is clear on how the military can and cannot be used in a domestic capacity, and while Trump as president will be commander-in-chief, the military is not bound to obey illegal orders.
Also, it should be noted that the current Biden-Harris administration has spent more than a year trying to jail Trump, their political opponent, though those cases are now essentially dead in the water and special counsel Jack Smith, who brought the charges on behalf of Biden’s Justice Department, is likely going to resign before Trump is inaugurated, according to reports this week.
Meanwhile, Trump has outlined his plans to “dismantle” the so-called “deep state” and shield Americans from Washington’s “corruption.”
In a video message, Trump’s ten-point plan explains his intention to change how the federal government works, focusing on dismantling long-standing bureaucratic structures and practices in the national security and intelligence areas. His plan includes executive orders, reforms, and a push for structural changes within government agencies. It also focuses on openness and responsibility.
In his speech, Trump was clear about what he wanted to do: “Here is my plan to destroy the deep state and take back our democracy from corrupt Washington once and for all—and corrupt it is.” First, I will instantly reissue my 2020 Executive Order that gives the President the power to fire bad bureaucrats, and I will use that power very strongly.”
Trump’s second action point calls for a complete review of the intelligence and national security agencies, which he has repeatedly said are being used against political opponents. He said, “We will get rid of all the corrupt people in our national security and intelligence apparatus.”
He also said that these agencies would be changed to stop what he called the targeting of conservatives, Christians, and other people seen as political enemies and reform the FISA courts so that they’re not simply rubber stamps for intelligence community warrants.
Trump has also pledged a “major crackdown” on government leaks, going after people who give information to the media, among other reforms.
