CHRIS CRUCIAL: You can't normalize this

PLUS: MAGA is fine with an all-powerful president

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1. This is NOT normal

Over the weekend, Donald Trump posted this on Truth Social:

Let me draw specific attention to these lines:

WHEN I WIN, those people that CHEATED will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law, which will include long term prison sentences ... Please beware that this legal exposure extends to Lawyers, Political Operatives, Donors, Illegal Voters, & Corrupt Election Officials.

There’s not much to interpret here. Trump is saying that if he wins in November he will go after anyone he believes has “cheated” (or should I say “CHEATED”) on the other side. And he is going to go looking for these folks; “Those involved in unscrupulous behavior will be sough out, caught and prosecuted at levels, unfortunately, never seen before in out Country.”

Like, not much wiggle room there.

It’s worth saying here that there is ZERO evidence of widespread (or non-widespread) election fraud in the 2020 election. Trump and his legal team filed more than 60 lawsuits regarding the 2020 race — and lost all but one, a technical case involving whether late-arriving ballots in Pennsylvania could be kept separately from other ballots. (If you want to revisit the many post-election legal cases Trump lost, click here.)

But, Trump has never let facts get in the way of the story he tells himself (and his supporters.) And that story, at least about the coming election, goes likes this:

a) If he wins, he will go after all the baddies who tried to keep him from winning (again, if past is prologue there will not be any of these people since there is zero evidence of widespread election fraud in American elections).

b) If he loses, it’s only because he was cheated out of it.

So…..yeah.

Let me say a few things here before I go on.

First, I am under NO illusion that Trump’s overt threats against “Lawyers, Political Operatives, Donors, Illegal Voters, & Corrupt Election Officials” (why the capitalization???) will change the basic dynamic of the race. They won’t. People have factored this all in already when it comes to Trump. It sort of comes with the territory.

Second, Donald Trump, to my mind, has a slightly better than 50-50 chance of being the next president of the United States. I wouldn’t bet my house on it but the closeness of the popular vote along with the closeness of the swing states makes very clear he is, at worst, a coin flip bet.

Ok, with that out of the way, I ALSO think it’s super important to say this: THIS IS NOT NORMAL.

Can you imagine if Kamala Harris said that when she won she would “prosecute” people who were on the wrong side of the election? Or if George W. Bush said it? Or Barack Obama? Or literally anyone else who has ever been president?

Trump’s comments got plenty of media coverage over the weekend. But today? The media was onto the next story — the debate!

I get it. News is about “new.” And Trump threatening people with prosecution isn’t new. But it also isn’t normal. At all.

We need to call this stuff out. Because if Trump wins and he tries to actually prosecute people who he says “cheated,” well then no one can act surprised.

2. MAGA-world is fine with an authoritarian presidency

On a related note, take a look at these new numbers from a new Pew national poll, which showed the race tied at 49% each:

A MAJORITY of Trump supporters believe it is acceptable for federal law enforcement officials to target political opponents for investigation. More than 4 in 10 think a president should be able to fire any federal employee not loyal to the president or pardon a friend or supporter who has been convicted of a crime.

My conclusion? Trumpworld is totally good with an authoritarian-inclined presidency. One that overtly uses the power of the federal government to reward friends and punish enemies.

Which should serve as a reminder: Lots of people are voting for Trump not in spite of his authoritarian leanings but because of them.

3. Pics from my day

I spent all day shooting a show — that I will be able to tell you about soon!!! — around Washington. I wanted to share a few pics I snapped along the way. Also, you can follow me on Instagram right here!

NOTABLE QUOTABLE

“There is no chance [Ronald Reagan] would be supporting Donald Trump. Donald Trump doesn’t stand for any of the things that Ronald Reagan did.” — Liz Cheney

ONE GOOD CHART

Will Donald Trump and Kamala Harris shake hands in tomorrow’s debate? You can bet on that! In fact, more than $158,000 has already been bet on it — via Polymarket

SONG OF THE DAY

Confession: I am not the world’s biggest Jack Antonoff fan. But, man do I love his band Bleachers. They have a new album called “A Stranger Desired” — which is a reimagined version of “Strange Desire,” the band’s hugely influential 2014 album. This is “Rollercoaster” — live from Red Rocks!

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