Trump wants Americans to think society is an apocalyptic wasteland: Mass shootings help him
Trump wants Americans to think society is an apocalyptic wasteland: Mass shootings help him
Gun paralysis isn't just about the NRA — Republicans are convinced they win when voters feel helpless and afraid
By AMANDA MARCOTTE
Senior Writer, Salon
PUBLISHED MARCH 29, 2023 5:45AM (EDT)
https://www.salon.com/2023/03/29/wants-americans-to-think-society-is-an-apocalyptic-wasteland-mass-help-him/
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Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee was blunter than some of his fellow Republicans, who mostly ran away from reporters or offered bland "thoughts and prayers" in response to Monday's school shooting in Nashville that left three kids, three school employees and the shooter dead. But Burchett, a hardline Trumpist who voted in support of Donald Trump's attempted coup in 2021, was certainly on message with what the Republican Party is telling America: Abandon all hope.
"I don't think you're going to stop the gun violence," he continued, arguing that the only thing that could possibly work is mass conversion to his version of Christianity. "As a Christian, we talk about the church. I've said this many times, I think we really need a revival in this country."
This religious pablum is just a fig leaf, of course, for what is essentially a nihilistic message. It's as if Burchett took Karl Marx's saying about the "opiate of the masses" as a blueprint. This rhetoric is about denying that change on Earth in possible, and suggesting that people focus on praying for miracles that never come.
This is grim stuff, but very on-brand for Republicans. They are, after all, a party still completely in the thrall of Trump, whose main campaign message is that America is a hellscape beyond redemption, and that the only viable response is about "retribution." Last Saturday, his "burn it all down" message assumed a new metaphorical meaning, as he held a rally in Waco, Texas, on the 30th anniversary of the FBI's standoff with a group of doomsday cultists who ultimately chose to die by fire rather than surrender their illegal weapons. Trump's speech was a cut-rate version of the apocalyptic ravings of Waco cult leader David Koresh, full of talk of how the country is "failing," our society has "collapsed" and the upcoming presidential election is its "final battle." The trappings of the rally, which opened with a video montage of the Jan. 6 insurrection, only enhanced the Armageddon messaging.
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