"If they do the chant, we'll have to see what happens...I don't know that you can stop people"

[Mrs. Overall]

Link to tweet

Hallie Jackson
@HallieJackson
Ahead of his Cincinnati rally, I asked @realDonaldTrump if he'd tell his supporters to stop if they begin chanting something problematic. "If they do the chant, we'll have to see what happens." So will you stop it? "I don't know that you can stop people."

[katmondoo]

1. Trump has people in the audience stationed to start the chant when he signals.

[riversedge]

2. and when chant starts, Trump will raise his hands to stop. stop. Then Trump will be the HERO!

Could happen like this. damn.

[marble falls]

11. No matter what, he will not be a hero: not to those he might stop, and certainly not to us.

[Deb]

3. Impotent POTUS has no control over his own supporters.

By his own admission.

[Mrs. Overall]

5. Exactly. He could make a very strong statement at the beginning of the rally that such behavior will

not be tolerated.

But of course, the asshole won't say a word and will smirk once the chanting starts.

[gratuitous]

4. "I don't know that you can stop people"

Two things about that: Bull. And Shit.

Last month, my beloved Portland Thorns were playing a hard-fought match. Thorns fans are among the most partisan and rabid on the planet. We love our team with a fierceness that Trump could only wish his non-bot supporters had. Mrs. gratuitous and I sit above the section where the Riveters, rowdiest of the rowdy, stand and cheer. The referee missed a call, as happens, and the entire section began to chant, "Ref you suck!" Down in the front of the section are four yell leaders who organize and lead the songs and the chants. When the crowd started to get wound up, it took two of them, each holding a palm out and two shakes of the head, and the chant died immediately.

Is Donald Trump, President of the United States, saying that he is less powerful than a couple of volunteer yell leaders at a women's soccer match? Wimp.

[Mrs. Overall]

6. +1

[yonder]

7. +2.

[Deb]

10. An admitted security risk

[EleanorR]

8. This thread seems relevant

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100212337569

We’ve seen this movie before in the radicalization of Muslims by internet sermons delivered by charismatic, father-figure clerics who inspire terrorism and martyrdom. The president has fallen short of calling for overt violence against minorities and immigrants, but unbalanced minds among us may fail to note the distinction. If a president paints people of color as the enemy, encourages them to be sent back to where they came from and implies that no humans want to live in certain American cities, he gives license to those who feel compelled to eradicate what Mr. Trump calls an infestation.

It doesn’t really matter whether Mr. Trump is truly a racist or merely playing one on television to appeal to his base. Either way, his path can lead to bloodshed. When that happens, we will hear White House officials and the Republican leadership claim their hands are clean because malicious people can’t be stopped from acting out.

Don’t believe a word of it. Terrorists aren’t born that way: They are inspired, cultivated and directed. Our experience with online radicalization has shown there is a clear path to violence. I fear we are on it.

[awesomerwb1]

9. If anyone's attending

Start the chant, start the chant, start the chant.