To condemn a delusional raging narcissist or to ignore incitement to rebellion. That is the question.

benfell

Our story today begins with Donald Trump being Donald Trump:

Former President Donald Trump called for the termination of the Constitution to overturn the 2020 election and reinstate him to power Saturday [December 3] in a continuation of his election denialism and pushing of fringe conspiracy theories.

“Do you throw the Presidential Election Results of 2020 OUT and declare the RIGHTFUL WINNER, or do you have a NEW ELECTION? A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution,” Trump wrote in a post on the social network Truth Social and accused “Big Tech” of working closely with Democrats. “Our great ‘Founders’ did not want, and would not condone, False & Fraudulent Elections!”[1]


I heard about this on social media almost as soon as Trump did his thing. There was a lo-o-o-n-n-n-g pause before I heard about it in the mainstream media. I saw a Guardian story the following morning, framed as a White House rebuke.[2] I saw a few more stories that evening and yet more this morning. Ruth Marcus expresses the dilemma, I think, well:

But I mostly thought: Why bother? Shaming targets and convincing readers are the columnist’s goals. With [Donald] Trump, no minds will be changed, and neither will his behavior.

And yet, there are times when attention must be paid — if only to lay down a marker, if only (grandiose as this may sound) so historians will understand: This went too far. This cannot be allowed to stand without being denounced.[3]

Setting aside, for the moment, her answer, Ruth Marcus really poses a question: When do we ignore a delusional raging narcissist’s desperate attempts to get attention and when must we warn,[4] as Laurence Tribe does, of potential violence of a sort that has previously been realized?[5] Framing the dichotomy in this way exposes its difficulty because the two solutions are not directly comparable. Adopting either of the frames (subframes?) within this dichotomy tautologically compels its corresponding conclusion.

It gets worse. Evidence exists to support both frames. Yes, the January 6 coup attempt happened. Yes, Donald Trump retains some support, or at least complicity, even among politicians who should be more responsible.[6] Yes, some of that support is inclined toward violence as was demonstrated on January 6. And yes, indeed, some of that support may be induced by Trump’s promise of pardons and even apologies for January 6 participants (should he return to the presidency).[7] At the very least, Trump’s words deserve the condemnation that Marcus demands;[8] at worst, they constitute, as Tribe suggests, incitement to rebellion.[9]

But also, yes, Trump is almost certainly through. Even in Pennsylvania, where his campaign flags and yard signs were ubiquitous, the signs and flags have mostly come down since the search at Mar-a-Lago. He arguably lost the 2022 midterm elections, depriving his party of a promised, and some thought certain, “red wave.” His rants follow the pattern of state’s erstwhile gubernatorial candidate, Doug Mastriano, who lost, appealing to the extremist ends of his base.[10] The Republican Party may still consider him relevant,[11] but there is good reason to doubt that he is, which rather directly argues for viewing all this in the delusional raging narcissist frame.

My inclination remains for the delusional raging narcissist frame. I’m not sensing right-wing militia groups mobilizing in response to Trump’s attempted incitement. I sympathize mightily with the long eye rolls that must have occurred at news desks across the country at this news. But I also can’t tell you that either Marcus or Tribe are wrong.

  1. [1]Kristen Holmes, “Trump calls for the termination of the Constitution in Truth Social post,” CNN, December 4, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/03/politics/trump-constitution-truth-social/index.html↩
  2. [2]Martin Pengelly, “Biden rebukes Trump for saying constitution should be ‘terminated’” Guardian, December 4, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/dec/04/biden-trump-us-constitution-terminated-election-fraud↩
  3. [3]Ruth Marcus, “Trump’s call for suspending the Constitution is too dangerous to ignore,” Washington Post, December 4, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/12/04/ruth-marcus-donald-trump-latest-outrage-is-too-dangerous-ignore/↩
  4. [4]Ruth Marcus, “Trump’s call for suspending the Constitution is too dangerous to ignore,” Washington Post, December 4, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/12/04/ruth-marcus-donald-trump-latest-outrage-is-too-dangerous-ignore/↩
  5. [5]Amy B. Wang, “GOP lawmakers largely silent after Trump suggests ‘termination’ of Constitution,” Washington Post, December 4, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/12/04/trump-constitution-republicans/↩
  6. [6]Amy B. Wang, “GOP lawmakers largely silent after Trump suggests ‘termination’ of Constitution,” Washington Post, December 4, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/12/04/trump-constitution-republicans/↩
  7. [7]Kristen Holmes, “Trump expresses support for Capitol rioters as he continues to embrace extremist groups,” CNN, December 2, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/02/politics/donald-trump-january-6-rioters-support/index.html; Bess Levin, “Donald Trump, Running for President in 2024, Defends Violent Mob That Broke Into the Capitol Over His 2020 Loss,” Vanity Fair, December 2, 2022, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/12/donald-trump-defends-january-6-rioters↩
  8. [8]Ruth Marcus, “Trump’s call for suspending the Constitution is too dangerous to ignore,” Washington Post, December 4, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/12/04/ruth-marcus-donald-trump-latest-outrage-is-too-dangerous-ignore/↩
  9. [9]Amy B. Wang, “GOP lawmakers largely silent after Trump suggests ‘termination’ of Constitution,” Washington Post, December 4, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/12/04/trump-constitution-republicans/↩
  10. [10]David Benfell, “More questions than answers as Donald Trump flags come down,” Not Housebroken, December 3, 2022, https://disunitedstates.org/2022/08/28/more-questions-than-answers-as-donald-trump-flags-come-down/↩
  11. [11]Amy B. Wang, “GOP lawmakers largely silent after Trump suggests ‘termination’ of Constitution,” Washington Post, December 4, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/12/04/trump-constitution-republicans/↩