This week has the most incidents of violence,  attempted violence, and acts of hate inspired by Trump and his rhetoric  since I started keeping track. The week started with two deadly mass  shootings — one directly linked to the language used by Trump and Fox  News — and rather invoking the role of consoler, Trump instead further  stoked division and hate. What many may have missed in Week 143 is the  amount of close calls by other white men — seemingly activated by  Trump’s rhetoric and gaslighting on white supremacy and hate — that  could have led to even more bloodshed. Or the remnants of racism and  xenophobia that Trump has brought into the mainstream with his actions  and words.

The Republican Party saw further defections of  House members retiring in 2020, but still lawmakers refused, with few  exceptions, to condemn Trump’s mishandling of the mass shootings, his  continuing divisiveness and hate, or his blocking of the FBI and other  agencies’ attempts to confront domestic terrorism carried out by white  supremacists. This week once again there was a bevy of resignations from  key roles, as power continues to consolidate into the hands of Trump  and his band of sycophants. A mass raid in Mississippi, the largest in  U.S. history, produced images of children crying as their parents were  taken by ICE agents from places of work. Again, not a peep from the  Republican Party.

This week House Democrats quietly escalated what  appears to be the start of a stealth impeachment inquiry, suing to have  former White House counsel Don McGahn appear for public testimony.  While Congress is away for six weeks — a noticeable hiatus given Trump’s  now unfettered control of the narrative and acting seemingly  unchallenged — court cases filed by House panels continued to move  forward.

The week closed with the shocking revelation  that Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in his prison cell, allegedly by  suicide, the day after court documents were unsealed, revealing other  powerful men involved in his ring of sex trafficking and rape of girls.  Conspiracy theories, some fanned by Russian-backed bots, exploded  shortly after, seeking to distract from the strange occurrence of  Epstein’s death.

Read the full list here: https://theweeklylist.org/weekly-list/week-143/