Is Trump planning to use a roundup of Hispanics as a diversion?

[MineralMan]

It sure seems like it to me. Such a massive operation would certainly raise an enormous hue and cry from the public. It might take over news coverage almost completely. Then, while everyone was looking that way, Trump could engage in some nefarious prestidigitation and "Abracadabra!" we're in deep doo-doo somewhere else.

The man is truly dangerous as an occupant of the White House. If he does something dramatic, some of us need to keep closely monitoring what's going on in other areas.

[GusBob]

1. Yes, "shock events"

They build up and build up.....everyday we are waiting the next outrageous thing while the last gets ignored

[Wounded Bear]

2. Kristalnacht....nt

[jalan48]

3. At this point the Republican Congress is getting everything it wants.

Side-show Trump is keeping the spotlight on himself.

[NYC Liberal]

4. It's not a diversion. It's one of his primary goals.

[MineralMan]

5. That does not negate the possibility of using it as a distraction.

He could still be planning other actions that occur while everyone is paying attention to that.

I'd be surprised if that wasn't part of the planning, frankly.

[NYC Liberal]

15. Eh, everything Trump has done I've seen people call it a distraction.

Travel ban? Distraction.
Rounding up immigrants? Distraction.
Unhinged press conferences and speeches? Distractions.

They aren't distractions.

He isn't that intelligent and his administration is not that coordinated. They're doing all this not as part of some master plan to distract people from...something else...but because Trump is a right-wing nut and he's implementing a right-wing policy agenda (albeit poorly). There's honestly not really more to it.

I think the disorganization is so bad that it probably seems like it has to be intentional, part of some plan. Nobody could be this incompetent or delusional. But Trump IS.

They're not masterminds. They're just incompetent ideologues with no experience running a government.

[dalton99a]

6. He's already pushing Russia and the GOP healthcare plan off the radar

with yesterday's performance.

[Chiquitita]

7. Not a diversion, but a permanent way to maintain control

I think it would cause conflicts between people, on our soil. It would militarize relationships between us, and it wouldn't take much to further divide people who support immigrants from those who don't. I see it as very dangerous, and a way to whip up hatreds.

[MineralMan]

11. Perhaps. I think he may overstep his bounds, though,

at some point. I'm not sure exactly at what point, though. Much damage could be done.

[Chiquitita]

14. National Guard members

on Twitter are saying they'd face court marshall rather than follow such orders, but a lot can happen fast and it doesn't give people time to communicate or deliberate to make such a decision.

I've worked with undocumented college students in Georgia. They are smart, informed, some have seen the inside of detention centers, and it is very scary. There's a lot of manipulation and lying that goes on inside once ICE has a detainee.

Pulling people out of communities is sure to cause conflict and it wouldn't take much to portray that as violent. Remember when the Wisconsin capitol protests were happening and Fox News showed the clip of a different event in Cali with palm trees to say the protesters were violent?

Honestly I think of all the people with guns here (a new bill is up in the GA legislature which would allow college students to carry into office hours, "hiya prof!" boom- "oops!&quot , that I fear a scenario in which armed citizens would join in.

[CanonRay]

8. Or start riots so he can crush them

right out of the Mein Kampf playbook.

[bigtree]

9. unfortunately, the round-up itself is extremely consequential

...we can't keep wondering if (a) is a distraction from (b).

All of their actions and statements deserve scrutiny, and consequential issues deserve response. 'Hue and cry' isn't cover for anything. We see them.

[MineralMan]

12. We see them, if we are looking at them.

If we are looking elsewhere, though, we might just miss something that doesn't take place so publicly.

[bigtree]

13. this assumes that coverage or protests are zero-sum enterprises which lead directly to result

...this isn't a campaign, and accountability doesn't necessarily rise and fall entirely on what's in the press or what we discuss among ourselves.

As you've pointed out, the consequential responses are in the democratic process of accountability, including elections, courts, and Congress.

[MineralMan]

17. Yes. There are checks and balances, but they take considerable time

to operate, generally. The courts are the fastest. Congress is next, but acts slowly and often feebly. Elections are the last resort, and occur at intervals long enough to allow a great deal of damage.

I'm going to put my faith in the Judicial Branch for the time being. They have demonstrated that they are willing to block Trump when he oversteps legal and constitutional boundaries. I hope that continues to be the case.

[Greybnk48]

10. Yes.

[nikibatts]

16. If he isn't, the GOP Congress is.

[workinclasszero]

18. 3 thinks the failing Trump presidency needs...

1. War

2. Domestic terrorist incident

3. Mobilize the National Guard to spread terror acting as a (extralegal?) police force, IOW the infamous Deportation Force.

I admit I never thought of the third scenario, chilling.

[dlk]

19. Bait and Switch

Trump is an accomplished con artist. It stands to reason he would use a bait and switch tactic as a distraction. It's a given he's up to no good, along with the rest of his cronies.