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For many Americans, Donald Trump’s conspiratorial lies about his 2020 defeat have become a nuisance, creating an annoying background noise to our daily public life. But as we’ve discussed, for those responsible for monitoring domestic security threats, the Republican’s nonsense is more menacing.
Politico reported last summer, for example, on “concerns” at the Department of Homeland Security about Trump’s election conspiracy theories. CNN reported soon after that Justice Department officials also concluded that the former president’s delusional claims increased the risk of political violence from his most rabid followers.
NBC News reported in August that the Department of Homeland Security issued a bulletin to local police departments, warning that false claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election were “fueling calls for violence on social media.”
The problem doesn’t appear to be going away. CNN reported:
The spread of conspiracy theories and disinformation is fueling the “heightened threat” environment in the United States, warns the latest national bulletin issued Monday by the Department of Homeland Security.
The full “Summary of Terrorism Threat to the U.S. Homeland” was issued and published online this week, and it covers a fair amount of ground, including referencing the recent hostage attack at a Texas synagogue and the threats directed at multiple Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
But the document’s repeated references to election-related concerns stand out.
The Department of Homeland Security noted, for example, that “widespread online proliferation of false or misleading narratives regarding unsubstantiated widespread election fraud” is a key factor “contributing to the current heightened threat environment.” DHS added:
Some domestic violent extremists have continued to advocate for violence in response to false or misleading narratives about unsubstantiated election fraud. The months preceding the upcoming 2022 midterm elections could provide additional opportunities for these extremists and other individuals to call for violence directed at democratic institutions, political candidates, party offices, election events, and election workers.
The DHS bulletin also noted that the “proliferation of false or misleading narratives ... sow discord or undermine public trust in U.S. government institutions.” It added that “threat actors seek to exacerbate societal friction to sow discord and undermine public trust in government institutions to encourage unrest, which could potentially inspire acts of violence.”
Evidently, Donald Trump heard about the Department of Homeland Security’s bulletin and decided to take action — by deliberately making matters worse.
“The Biden Administration now says ‘conspiracy theories’ about elections are the greatest threat to the homeland,” the former president said in a written statement issued yesterday. The Republican proceeded to spend the next several sentences peddling a series of ridiculous conspiracy theories about his defeat in Georgia, his defeat in Wisconsin, his defeat in Arizona, and his odd belief that Facebook “hijacked” the elections.
To the extent that reality matters, the Biden administration did not actually say that election-related conspiracy theories are “the greatest threat to the homeland.” What’s more, each of Trump’s claims were demonstrably absurd.
But what made the statement notable is the larger context: The Department of Homeland Security on Monday issued a bulletin, warning that conspiracy theories about elections are contributing to threats to public safety. This led Trump on Tuesday to issue a new round of election-related conspiracy theories.
Or put another way, the Department of Homeland Security pointed to a simmering fire that might put Americans at risk, at which point the former Republican president thought it’d be a good idea to reach for his bottle of lighter fluid.