Maddow Blog-As Trump accuses Democrats of 'buying protestors,' the lie comes with a radical subtext [View all]

[LetMyPeopleVote]

For nearly a decade, the president has accused his public critics of being “paid protesters.” It’s a ridiculous claim rooted in a radical subtext.

As Trump accuses Democrats of ‘buying protestors’ the lie comes with a radical subtext

For nearly a decade, the president has accused his public critics of being “paid protesters” It’s a ridiculous claim rooted in a radical subtext

#GOPLiesAboutEverything #Projection

www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

— br00t4c (@br00t4c.bsky.social) 2025-08-18T14:54:59.839Z

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-accuses-democrats-buying-protestors-lie-comes-radical-subtext-rcna225545

But the president also has a habit of using the phrase “just came out” when describing evidence that he’s made up out of whole cloth. On Friday, when he should’ve been preparing for his summit in Alaska with Russia’s Vladimir Putin, the Republican pushed an unfortunate variation of the line. As The New Republic noted:

Washington’s malcontent over the sudden federalization of its law enforcement has apparently come as a surprise to Donald Trump. In a post on Truth Social Friday morning, the president claimed that the people protesting his decision to leverage hundreds of National Guards members to combat a seemingly unfounded rise in crime were actually paid Democratic agents.

“It’s just been found that the Democrats are buying protestors in order to fight my attack on crime,” the president wrote online, using clumsy passive-voice phrasing. The convicted felon added, “These are criminals who support crime.”

The nonsensical claim, which he predictably failed to support with anything resembling evidence, is certainly familiar. Indeed, a couple of months ago, amid protests in the Los Angeles area, Trump railed against “paid insurrectionists,” “professional agitators” and “paid troublemakers”.....

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, as happened again over the weekend, don’t need to be compensated: Their outrage is sincere.