Trump’s Hershey Rally Highlights the President’s

Disturbing Disregard for Law and Demand for Total

Loyalty
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By: Nate Linder Opinion 10/18/19
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Last Tuesday, Donald Trump appeared in Hershey, Pennsylvania for one of his
last rallies of 2019. In light of the day’s previous events, which included Trump being
charged with two high crimes and the Democratic House’s release of the articles of
impeachment against him, Trump needed to use this time to produce proof of his
innocence and to show his willingness to comply with due process. Instead, what
Trump’s performance showed was a president who values loyalty over transparency,
and himself over the U.S. constitution.
Immediately after he was introduced to his audience, Trump preceded to rail
against Nancy Pelosi and the impeachment inquiry against him. Standing in front of
11,000 people, Trump called the process a “witch hunt,” while claiming that the
“​impeachment hoax is about overturning your great 2016 vote, or in the alternative,
trying to win the 2020 election.” Despite the seriousness of the charges against the
president, which include abuse of power and obstruction of congress, Trump believes
that he is above being investigated by congress in a process which he has called a
“waste of time.” Unlike presidents before him who have been willing to cooperate with
impeachment investigations, Trump used his platform to spread harmful misinformation
about what is a crucial part of American democracy.
Shortly after his attacks against the impeachment process, Trump once again
brought up the ​debunked conspiracy theory​ that the FBI spied on his 2016 election
campaign by claiming that, “​The inspector general’s shocking report proved that the
Obama FBI obtained secret warrants to spy on my campaign based on a phony foreign
dossier of debunk smears, paid for by crooked Hillary Clinton and the DNC.” This attack
against the FBI is further evidence of what has already been a disturbing trend in the
Trump presidency, he believes he is above the law, and is willing to attack those
disloyal to him with blatant lies.
Throughout his rally, Trump repeatedly expressed a disdain for those who
refused to promise absolute loyalty to him and for those who investigate the truth behind
his administration’s lies. He spread the rumor that the Ukraine whistleblower “defrauded
our country” and “flew the coop,” when called to testify. He also attacked the leadership
of the FBI, saying that “You have great people in the FBI, but not in leadership. You
have not good people in leadership.” Later, he referred to FBI agents as “scum” in a rant
about charges filed against several of his campaign associates for illegal activities:
“Their lives have been destroyed by scum, ok? By scum.” The message behind these
attacks is clear, you are either with Trump, or against him, and those who go against
him will be subjected to frequent attacks from him and his administration.
After spending nearly an hour slandering the impeachment process and those
disloyal to him, Trump ended his night on an ominous note. Warning of chaos if he
doesn’t win the 2020 election, he stated that, “At stake in our present battle is the
survival of the American nation itself. We will destroy our country if these people get in.”
This type of speech is not abnormal for someone who ​encouraged “second amendment
people” to take action against his political opponent​, but it still highlights a dark pattern
in Trump’s rhetoric: Trump believes that those not 100% loyal to him have no place in
U.S. government, and that he is immune to the consequences of the law.