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Trump Is Not Afraid of Civil War. Neither Is Stephen Miller.
The New York Times ^ | Oct. 7, 2025, 5:03 a.m. ET | Thomas B. Edsall

Posted on 10/08/2025 9:53:47 AM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum

President Trump has unleashed new weaponry in his war against Democrats, liberals and the left. Over the past four weeks, he has initiated what amounts to a unique form of partisan civil war designed to amass power in a nominal democracy and defang, decimate and defund the opposition.

Trump’s assault on the left combines the use of the available tools of violent conflict — the military, the Department of Homeland Security and ICE in particular — with the prosecution of critics (and people he just doesn’t like), cuts of essential funds for liberal institutions, the use of regulation to threaten businesses with bankruptcy, the criminalization of free speech and the blackmailing of corporate America into obedience.

At the memorial service for Charlie Kirk last month in Phoenix, Stephen Miller, Trump’s top domestic policy adviser, described in great detail how the administration plans to deal with its domestic opponents: “We will not live in fear, but you will live in exile, because the power of law enforcement under President Trump’s leadership will be used to find you, will be used to take away your money, take away your power, and if you have broken the law, to take away your freedom.”

For Trump and his allies, recent developments, including the government shutdown, the indictment of James Comey and the assassination of Kirk, are openings to escalate the attack on institutions and programs identified with liberalism and the Democratic Party. For the MAGA right, any crisis is an opportunity. In fact, every crisis is.

The assault has become increasingly brutal as Trump and his allies intensify their demonization of all things left of center, by which they often seem to mean anything to the left of the hard right.

Ryan Enos, a political scientist at Harvard, emailed me in response to my...

(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Editorial; Government; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 5deferments; arrestthomasbedsall; commanderbonespurs; cw2; cwii; fakenews; hyperbole; newyorkslimes; nyslimes; nyslimessedition; sedition; tds; thomasbesdall

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For the MAGA right, any crisis is an opportunity.

Abject projection/hypocrisy.

"Never let a crisis go to waste" --Rahm Emmanuel

1 posted on 10/08/2025 9:53:47 AM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
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To: E. Pluribus Unum
Which side would the New York Times be on in 1860?

Or were they around in 1860?

2 posted on 10/08/2025 9:55:45 AM PDT by Texas Eagle ("Throw me to the wolves and I'll return leading the pack"- Donald J. Trump)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

You’re not kidding. Ultimate projection by this clown Edsall whose writings are all like this too. These sheltered white liberals like Edsall don’t see the damage that liberal policies do to regular people in this country. These are the rants of another elite, out of touch American propagandist for the left.


3 posted on 10/08/2025 9:57:53 AM PDT by dowcaet
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Neither am I.


4 posted on 10/08/2025 9:59:39 AM PDT by SaxxonWoods (Annnd....TRUMP IS RIGHT AGAIN.)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum
I do believe it is your side dear Thomas that has been shooting at us, beating on us and setting up bombs for us.

We have not retaliated, we are just noticing and now locking up the criminals who are doing such.

This seems to have put your pretty lacy panties in a wad.

I wonder why?

5 posted on 10/08/2025 10:00:17 AM PDT by Harmless Teddy Bear (It's like somebody just put the Constitution up on a wall …. and shot the First Amendment -Mike Rowe)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

No lying Gray Whore, it isn’t civil war he’s unafraid of. Trump is not afraid to enforce the principles of Union as decided in finality from 1861-1865. Cities and states do not get to selectively decide which federal laws they follow, which presidents they follow, which people they view as inferior...


6 posted on 10/08/2025 10:00:17 AM PDT by Frank Drebin (And don't ever let me catch you guys in America!)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Neither am I.


7 posted on 10/08/2025 10:01:54 AM PDT by Carriage Hill (A society grows great when old men plant trees, in whose shade they know they will never sit.)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Get over yourself, Tommy.


8 posted on 10/08/2025 10:02:23 AM PDT by grobdriver (The CDC can KMA!)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

If there is a side promoting Civil War, it is Antifa.


9 posted on 10/08/2025 10:03:01 AM PDT by Parley Baer
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Me neither


10 posted on 10/08/2025 10:07:00 AM PDT by Resolute Conservative
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

>Abject projection/hypocrisy

Absolutely!

What we are seeing in Chicago, Portland, elsewhere is a real insurrection aided by government officials, a far cry from the rough and tumble protest of Jan 6, which was not too different from, arguably less violent than, Leftist protests of the Summer of Love 2020 that the NY Times and other Fake News characterized as “mostly peaceful protests.”


11 posted on 10/08/2025 10:23:38 AM PDT by FreedomPoster (Islam delenda est)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

with the prosecution of critics (and people he just doesn’t like), cuts of essential funds for liberal institutions, the use of regulation to threaten businesses with bankruptcy, the criminalization of free speech and the blackmailing of corporate America into obedience.

All of these things have been done to the right by democrats for a decade or more.


12 posted on 10/08/2025 10:33:54 AM PDT by packrat35 (“When discourse ends, violence begins.” – Charlie Kirk, and they killed him anyway)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Progressives, Liberals, Leftists and outright Marxists have used every possible area of power in the nation, including lawmakers, to silence, sideline, demonize, tie up in courts, all manner of real conservatives, for decades. They got away with it because the GOP leaders had no backbone and refused to call the Leftist/Marxist takeover of “Liberals” and Liberal institutions for what it was - the Marxist occupation of Liberals power structure.

But Donald Trump is no spineless Rino, and now all the Liberals sacred cow institutions are having the tables turned on them. All that they did against Conservatives for years they now claim is un-American when the shoe is on the other foot.


13 posted on 10/08/2025 10:34:55 AM PDT by Wuli (uire)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

The right did not start the Civil War we are in. Your side did when they shot people who just wanted to debate. Your side did when they shot politicians on our side. Your side did when they assaulted people for wearing a hat. Your side did when they screamed at people having dinner with their families. Your side did when they screamed at Vance when he was at Disneyland with his children. Your side did when they used the courts instead of the ballet box. I could go on and on how the left has attacked the right and the right did nothing back.

The right has simply had enough of the violence done by the left. FUNYT I am done with the attacks by the left. The left is the only side killing people who simply voice a different opinion.


14 posted on 10/08/2025 10:37:39 AM PDT by jimpick
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Tempted to click on the link and would hate to give the NYT $.001 for the click... but I really liked everything I read in the FR excerpt above!


15 posted on 10/08/2025 10:42:23 AM PDT by BuchananBrigadeTrumpFan (If in doubt, it's probably sarcasm)
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To: Texas Eagle

The NYT covered the civil war on a daily basis.


16 posted on 10/08/2025 10:46:08 AM PDT by central_va ( I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn...)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

“I just told the truth, and they thought it was hell.”


17 posted on 10/08/2025 10:46:34 AM PDT by Steely Tom ([Voter Fraud] == [Civil War])
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To: Parley Baer

John Brown was a liberal zealot terrorist.


18 posted on 10/08/2025 10:47:25 AM PDT by central_va ( I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn...)
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To: central_va

Did they support one side or the other? Or were they
neutral?


19 posted on 10/08/2025 10:50:48 AM PDT by Texas Eagle ("Throw me to the wolves and I'll return leading the pack"- Donald J. Trump)
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To: Texas Eagle

In 1860, NYT would have been too busy trying to capture escaped slaves and return them to the newspaper’s Democrat allies in the South.


20 posted on 10/08/2025 10:52:36 AM PDT by Old West Conservative
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