Trump: Antifa are paid anarchists, because they have nice beautiful expensive paper signs with beautiful wood handles

[Miles Archer]

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-government-shutdown-live-updates_n_68dd6e42e4b06c0a3a8c0f14/liveblog_68e6bf4ce4b0c6dbe0ed9c41

Trump Says He Thinks ‘Paid Anarchists’ Run Antifa Because They Have Nice Signs

Trump told the Antifa roundtable he believes there’s big money funding the group that opposes fascism because apparently their signs are too nice for any other explanation.

“When you see the signs, and they’re all made out of beautiful paper, beautiful, nice stiff. Very expensive paper. With beautiful wood handles, they’re all the same. All the same color. They come from very expensive printing machines. These aren’t the people that write out their signs in a basement that believe in something. These are paid anarchists,” he said, offering no evidence to support either his statement or the conclusion he drew from it.

The comments came after he further alleged, also without evidence, that Antifa organizes paid speakers, agitators and anarchists at U.S. universities, all of which is funded by "probably some of the people I dine with."

[dweller]

1. uh huh

Like all those beautiful screen printed T shirts printed up for Jan 6 …
by some of the people you dine with ?

😑



✌🏻

[orangecrush]

2. Fucking lunatic

[marble falls]

3. My sign has a rosewood handle and 6th century vellum for the sign. Geiorge Soros helped me pick it out at "Signs B Us",

... in between my Pilates class and my botox injections. I've had to hire another anarchist just to keep my schedules straight.

[yardwork]

4. Are you still getting new Obama phones every six months?

Mine comes in the mail like clockwork.

[marble falls]

11. I like the new Apple Version the best. Expensive? Sure, but George Soros is paying for them.

[yardwork]

17. Wait. You get the newest versions?

I'm not getting the newest versions. I need to send a fax about that.

[marble falls]

36. I'll tell George when we meet for tea!

[newdeal2]

7. I'm so sorry for your struggles

They should really be paying you more.

[marble falls]

12. I know. But we must sometimes just take one for the team.

[Miles Archer]

10. Trump can say what he wants about George Soros, but...

...you are not the first person to tell me about how he took time out of his busy day to help someone select a really nice sign, a beautiful sign, and then pay for it. His benevolence when it comes to really nice, expensive, beautiful signs is the stuff of legends.

[marble falls]

14. George is so thoughtful that way. He even has the cash washed and ironed so the bills fit better in one's wallet.

[Trueblue Texan]

20. That George Soros guy owes me a LOT of money!

I understand he pays all the protesters, but I've never received a single nickel and I have been a loyal protester for YEARS!!! Where's my money, George?!!!

[Trueblue Texan]

26. If George Soros would pay me what he owes me...

...I could go to the No Kings protest dressed as an inflatable unicorn!

[marble falls]

37. I got an uninflatable unicorn costume one year, so I went as a rug.

[Trueblue Texan]

39. ?????

I REALLY want to understand your comment, and something tells me you're dying to 'splain. Please do!

[Lovie777]

5. Insaneville........

with shithol'e 14 year younger heart

and the lies keep marching on...................

GQP want blood on US streets.

[Miles Archer]

13. You left out the most important part about Trump's 14 year younger heart...

...that the doctors have never seen anything like it before. Seriously. They all went through college, then med school, then internships and residencies, before they could qualify to work at Walter Reed, but with all of that experience, they were not prepared for such a superb medical specimen as Trump.

I mean, leave that out, and you've left out the best part of the story, right?

[dalton99a]

6. They wear clothes and shoes. Clear proof that there is big money involved.

[underpants]

8. Signs are telling.

[Trueblue Texan]

27. Jesus H Christ.nt

[sop]

9. The First Amendment is now "paid anarchy" in Trump's feeble mind.

[markie]

15. my NO KINGS sign

"I AM PROUD ANTIFA" and some other choice words

[Girard442]

16. I am clearly not a legit protester because I have a professionally made sign??

I make my own signs. I have a Master's in Computer Science. They are professionally made -- by me, you pinheads.

[yardwork]

19. Expertise is out of style these days.

[ProudMNDemocrat]

18. Fucking hell!

Any Target or Michael's store has supplies one needs to make signs.

HL is mostly Chinese goods and will cost a fortune.

[milestogo]

21. George Soros paid me and sent me a couple of "nice signs"

so I wouldn't have to make one. And the stick is made from black walnut, very beautiful.

[Vinca]

22. You'd think he'd be happy the "Fuck Trump" signs were so well made.

[choie]

23. Are any crack journalists or

even Democratic leaders going to ask for evidence of this? Letting trump spew without a fierce response is a dangerous and foolish tactic.

[subterranean]

25. They have plenty of evidence against it.

All they have to do is show pictures from any "No Kings," anti-ICE, or pro-democracy protest from this year to debunk this lie.

[subterranean]

24. "Nice signs..all the same...from very expensive printing machines."

You mean like this? As usual, he's projecting...



On the other hand, at every protest I've seen this year, all the signs have been unique and handmade, some of them very creative.

[Trueblue Texan]

29. My signs have been homemade and I got a damn shoulder injury from carrying it!

I'm going to make a sandwich board sign for No Kings protest if Soros doesn't pay up --if he would I'd get that inflatable unicorn outfit!

[UpInArms]

31. Compare your "handmade" signs to these "professional" signs

[marble falls]

38. These are part of the antifa scouts, they get the good signs after they get all their antifa scouting badges.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

28. Maddow Blog-'Paid insurrectionists': Amid unrest in L.A, Trump returns to an unsettling old favorite

For nearly a decade, the president has accused those protesting against him of being “paid protesters.” It’s a ridiculous claim rooted in a scary subtext.

As Trump clings to his “paid insurrectionists” line, there’s an unsettling subtext:

For Trump, Americans who disagree with him are effectively an impossibility that can only be explained through corrupt schemes and illicit payments. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2025-06-10T19:09:42.597Z

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/paid-insurrectionists-unrest-l-trump-returns-unsettling-old-favorite-rcna212142

The Republican replied that he would “take a look at what’s happening,” which wasn’t exactly reassuring. But before moving on, Trump blamed local unrest on “paid insurrectionists.”

https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:aunpu65mdrhwfie7ynymlzeh/post/3lrbedg5qxc2t

Link to tweet

He’s been pushing the same line quite a bit in recent days. A day earlier, the president also told reporters: “The people that are causing the problem are professional agitators.” Over the weekend, he also used his social media platform to complain about “paid troublemakers” and “paid insurrectionists.”

If the line sounds familiar, it’s not your imagination.

As regular readers might recall, it was nearly nine years ago when Trump’s 2016 candidacy inspired protests, at which point he assumed that the people involved couldn’t possibly be sincere in their dislike of him. They were, he said at the time, “paid agitators.”

After he prevailed on Election Day 2016, there was related anti-Trump activism. Those involved, he said in November 2016, were “paid protesters.” Months later, after his inauguration, the activism continued. Trump assured the public once more that these Americans deserved to be ignored — because, he assumed, they were “paid protesters.”

The following year, Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination inspired another round of progressive activism. The protesters, Trump insisted, were “paid professionals.”....

Indeed, it’s hardly a stretch to draw a straight line from “paid protesters” rhetoric to election denialism: Americans who side with Trump and Republicans are real, while Americans who disagree must necessarily be seen as inauthentic.

Whether the president is prepared to accept this or not, the fact remains that Americans who take to the streets to express their dissatisfaction with him don’t need to be compensated: Their outrage is sincere.

[The Madcap]

30. Next time, I'll ask for one with a gold-plated handle

And a golden, jewel-encrusted frame. Oh, and LED's to make it light up in the dark.

Gotta be patriotic and match the tastelessness of the Oval Office.

[C_U_L8R]

32. What does that make magats

Goosestepping in their stupid red hats.

[jmowreader]

33. I wonder if the dumbass realizes...

...Staples, Walgreens, and FedEx Office will print a sign for you on their wide-format printers for not very much money.

[Emrys]

34. UNDER GENERALISSIMO TRUMP ONLY STATE-SANCTIONED SIGNS WILL BE PERMITTED

ANY NOT CONFORMING TO THE OFFICIAL MISPELLING AND GRAMMAR ERROR QUOTAS WILL BE CONFISCATED AND THEIR BEARERS SHOT OR VICE VERSA DEPENDING ON MOOD. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER.

[Ping Tung]

35. "Property is theft.": French anarchist philosopher Pierre-Joseph Proudhon 1840

Anti-capitalism and anti-statism: He believed that both the state and capitalist private property were illegitimate institutions that relied on violence to maintain power and suppress individual freedom.

Mutualism: As an alternative, Proudhon advocated for a system of worker-run cooperatives and associations. This mutualist model would have individuals or groups possess the means of production based on their labor, rather than having a separate owner who extracts profit

Property as liberty: In his later works, Proudhon nuanced his view by also stating "property is liberty." He used this apparent contradiction to explain that individual possession served as a check against the power of the state. He saw both the abuse of property (theft) and its potential for good (freedom from the state).

[LetMyPeopleVote]

40. MaddowBlog-Ahead of No Kings events, Republicans' anti-protest rhetoric takes an ugly turn

GOP leaders appear so concerned about a scheduled protest that they're falsely labeling a No Kings gathering as a “hate-America rally.”

The more Republican rhetoric about No Kings events turns hysterical, the easier it is to believe that the party is increasingly worried about the growing public backlash to the GOP agenda. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2025-10-13T15:48:52.307Z

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/ahead-no-kings-events-republicans-anti-protest-rhetoric-takes-ugly-tur-rcna237271

Donald Trump’s approach to peaceful American protesters has long reflected a president uncomfortable with dissent. Indeed, the Republican has spent years trying to delegitimize dissenters, urging the public to see his detractors as “paid protesters,” as if his opponents are inherently inauthentic.......

But when it comes to GOP attitudes related to Americans and their right to public dissent, the problem isn’t limited to the man in the Oval Office. Politico reported late last week:

Speaker Mike Johnson on Friday slammed the No Kings protest march scheduled to take place at the National Mall [on Oct. 18], describing the planned protest as the ‘hate America rally’ that would draw ‘the pro-Hamas wing’ and ‘the antifa people.’ His characterizations, however, drew condemnation from some Democrats who defended the protest movement, whose first big demonstration was overwhelmingly peaceful.

Hours after the Louisiana Republican made those comments on Fox News, he doubled down on the rhetoric during comments to reporters on Capitol Hill, referring to No Kings gathering as a “hate-America rally.”

Johnson had plenty of company. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer on Friday also told reporters that the scheduled protest should be seen as a “hate-America rally,” adding that the gathering is being championed by “the terrorist wing” of the Democratic Party......

Last month, Trump designated antifa as a “major terrorist organization,” notwithstanding the fact there is no such organization, and we soon after discussed an unsettling dynamic: If the White House says that antifa members are terrorists, and the White House says it will decide on its own who and what qualifies as “antifa” affiliates, this can get very scary, very quickly.

Weeks later, GOP leaders started telling Americans that a peaceful demonstration by Americans will draw “the antifa people,” and that “the terrorist wing” of the Democratic Party is involved in the gathering.

There have already been too many recent instances in which those in positions of power have tried to stifle dissent. There’s no reason to believe, however, that things won’t get worse.