Covering the final night of the RNC on Thursday, Rachel Maddow had a bleak summation of just what it the Republican Party has done by selecting Donald Trump as its nominee.
“Republicans are going to nominate a felon who tried to overthrow the US government by force” Maddow said, accurately. “They have decided that force was justified, and that they they, in no way, shape or form, are suggesting that they won’t do it again.”
“The Republican Party is this time planning overtly, in advance, that there is not going to be a normal certification of the election this year,” she said also.
You can watch the whole commentary here right now:
Maddow started the commentary by talking plainly about Trump’s many crimes, his multiple felony convictions, and the context for those crimes and convictions — we know you’re familiar with them so won’t repeat them at length here.
Maddow then noted how unusual Trump is, not only his low character but also how he left office in 2021 leaving “in his wake the worst incidents of political violence the country has ever seen in a presidential transition. The only time we haven’t had a peaceful transition of power from one president to the next, arguably, ever, arguably since the Civil War.”
She then argued that the deeply unpopular policies and the outright revocation of people’s rights that the Trump’s Supreme Court has imposed on the country, as well as openly plotting even worse things to come via entities like Project 2025, is a “wild record” that Republicans are attempting to return to power on. “But here we are. They are nominating a felon, one who left office in a storm of violence that, among other things, injured dozens of police officers, violence for which hundreds of his supporters have pled guilty or been convicted of serious crimes,” she said.
Maddow then recounted how the RNC this week featured speeches by multiple Trump accomplices, including fake electors who are currently under indictment, and literal convicted felons.
And then, lamenting that in the wake of the Jan. 6 attack, “it did not seem at the time like we had any lack of clarity as a country as to whether or not it would be a good thing or a bad thing for our country” if Trump had succeeded, Maddow argued that the real danger now is that his running mate, JD Vance, was specifically picked because he has publicly said had he been Vice President on Jan. 6 2021, he would have refused to certify the election.
“We have been slowly boiling in this reality for long enough that it is possible to lose sight of just how radical this moment actually is,” Maddow continued. “But Republicans are going to nominate a felon who tried to overthrow the US government by force. Despite all the people who have gone to prison for it, they have decided that force was justified and that they they, in no way, shape or form, are suggesting that they won’t do it again… It’s the plan, the Republican Party is this time planning overtly in advance that there is not going to be a normal certification of the election this year. They have laid the groundwork already and are implementing efforts already to have Republican county and state officials refuse to certify election results from the get go.”
She also noted a New York Times story over the weekend detailing plans by Trump allies to illegally prevent the election from being properly counted if Trump loses.
“Here’s where we are. The first time the Republican Party chose Donald Trump as their nominee for president, he won the presidential election. His presidency is viewed by historians as the worst presidency in the history of the United States. He was impeached twice. The second time they chose him as their party’s nominee for president. He lost the general election, and it ended in a silent, failed effort to retain power by force. Now they are choosing him again with whatever you call the opposite of regret for how it worked out the last time, and with an all but explicit promise to do it again.”