“As an adjudicated insurrectionist, Trump is an illegitimate president according to Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, and therefore every official act as president will be illegitimate.”
–Mike Zonta, co-editor of OccupySF.net
The 14th Amendment states: “No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any state legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any state, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may, by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.”
Call your Congressperson and your U.S. Senators at (202) 224-3121
On May 1, 2026, San Francisco hosts major May Day actions, including a 2 PM march from Civic Center Plaza, focusing on labor rights, immigration, and anti-austerity. Expect disruptions, specifically an early morning SFO terminal demonstration, and a broader “no work, no school” movement. Major actions in San Francisco include: [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
11 AM – SFO Rally: A demonstration led by SEIU-USWW and Bay Resistance at SFO’s International Terminal departure level.
2 PM – May Day “Shut it Down” March: Main march starting at Civic Center Plaza, marching toward Embarcadero.
4 PM – SF Labor Council March: Rally at Embarcadero Plaza for International Workers’ Day.
Demands: Workers are protesting for higher wages, against ICE actions, and against corporate greed. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
Transit and traffic around the Civic Center and the Embarcadero may be affected. Participants are advised to join the rallies at Civic Center Plaza. [1, 2]
Every penny Republicans choose to spend on ICE and Border Patrol, on Trump’s wars of choice, and his gaudy ballroom, is money that could be going to healthcare, schools, and making life more affordable for working families in our country. The GOP is going out of its way to prove how little they care about their own constituents — and we’re going to hammer them for it. And together, we’re going to do everything we can do to block this bill.
As this fight unfolds, we’ll have more actions you can take and ways to mobilize your friends and neighbors and voters across the country — but you can get started today by contacting your Members of Congress.
Vessels taking part in the Global Sumud Flotilla 2026 Spring Mission to Gaza depart from the marina in Augusta, on the island of Sicily, Italy, on April 26, 2026.
(Photo by Baris Seckin/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“How on Earth,” asked the UN’s top Palestine expert, “is possible that Israel is allowed to assault and seize vessels in international waters just off Greece/Europe?”
Palestine defenders on Thursday condemned Israeli forces’ raid of the latest Global Sumud Flotilla—which was sailing off the Greek coast while attempting to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza—and the arrest of more than 200 of its participants, with some prominent critics calling the seizure an act of piracy.
Greenpeace International—whose MY Arctic Sunrise is the flotilla’s most prominent ship—said that the maritime convoy’s 58 vessels were “boarded and harassed by Israeli forces in international waters 45 nautical miles west of the Greek island Kythira and 600 nautical miles from Gaza.”
Flotilla organizers said on X: “Our boats were approached by military speedboats, self-identified as ‘Israel’, pointing lasers and semi-automatic weapons ordering participants to the front of the boats and to get on their hands and knees. The boat communications are being jammed and an SOS was issued.”
The organizers said 211 flotilla participants were seized by Israeli forces. Flotilla activist Yasmine Scola said members were “kidnapped.”
Global Sumud France spokesperson Helene Coron said that 10 French nationals, including communist Paris City Council Member Raphaelle Primet, were seized.
Our Spring Campaign is falling short. Will you pitch in?
The only way our people-powered media model can survive is with the support of readers like you. Will you donate today to keep nonprofit journalism alive?
about:blank
“We don’t have the information for the other nationalities, but the boats were mixed in terms of nationality, so there were crew members from all 48 delegations,” Coron added.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry said that “approximately 175 activists from more than 20 boats… are now making their way peacefully to Israel.”
Responding to Israel’s interception, former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakissaid on social media that his country’s government “is either complicit or incapable of defending our seas from Israel.”
“So much for freedom of navigation and international law,” he added.
Independent British Member of Parliament Jeremy Corbynsaid of the flotilla members: “They were not intercepted. They were abducted in international waters. This is piracy—and is a flagrant violation of international law.”
Another British lawmaker, Labour MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy, wrote on X that “last night, Israel’s navy committed an act of armed piracy in international waters, threatening unarmed civilians aboard.”
“Our government must condemn this attack, extend diplomatic protection to British participants, and work to ensure safe passage,” she added.
The migrant search and rescue group SOS Mediterranee France said on X that “attacking or threatening” Global Sumud Flotilla vessels “in international waters constitutes a violation of maritime law.”
“Furthermore, the Geneva Conventions are clear: Any person engaged in a humanitarian mission must be protected. Solidarity is not a crime, Preventing aid, however, is,” the group added.
In the United States, Council on American-Islamic Relations executive director Nihad Awad said in a statement that “Congress must demand that the Israeli apartheid government immediately release the American citizens and other humanitarian activists it kidnapped in international waters in a blatant violation of international law.”
“Our nation would not tolerate, much less fund, the kidnapping of American citizens in international waters off the coast of Greece by any other state,” Awad added. “It is long past time for the out-of-control Netanyahu regime to face consequences of its crimes, including American citizens.”
The United States supports Israel with tens of billions of dollars in armed aid, and diplomatic cover including repeated vetoes of United Nations Security Council cease-fire resolutions for Gaza.
Last year, dozens of boats carrying hundreds of activists from over 40 nations took part in the last Global Sumud Flotilla—sumud means “perseverance” in Arabic—as it attempted to break Israel’s naval blockade and deliver desperately needed humanitarian aid including food, medicines, and baby formula to starving Gazans amid a growing famine.
Israeli forces intercepted and seized the flotilla vessels in international waters in early October, arresting all aboard the boats and temporarily jailing them in Israel.
In 2010, Israeli forces raided one of the first convoys carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza by sea. The attackers killed nine volunteers aboard the MV Mavi Marmara, including Turkish-American teenager Furkan Doğan.
Members of past Gaza flotillas have reported abuse at the hands of their Israeli captors, although they have urged the world to focus not on them, but rather the people of Gaza, who have endured nearly 31 months of genocidal war and siege.
More than 250,000 Palestinians have been killed or wounded by Israeli forces since the Hamas-led attack of October 7, 2023, including thousands who are still missing and presumed dead and buried beneath rubble. Most victims are civilians. Around 2 million other Gazans have been forcibly displaced, starved, or sickened.
The Israeli government continues to blockade Gaza by land and sea, strictly limiting the entry of humanitarian aid into the besieged coastal strip.
“We renew our call on world leaders to take concrete and immediate action in the face of the genocide being inflicted by Israel on the people of Gaza,” Pujarini Sen, project lead aboard the Arctic Sunrise, said Thursday. “The international community’s ongoing failure to enforce international law leaves it culpable for Israel’s actions.”
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Democratic presidential nominee, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris departs the stage with Second gentleman Doug Emhoff after conceding the election, at Howard University on November 06, 2024 in Washington, DC.
(Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
Who are party leaders protecting most by not releasing an autopsy of the former vice president’s 2024 loss to Donald Trump?
More than four months after Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin announced that he was breaking his promise to release its autopsy report on the 2024 election, the decision remains highly controversial. Arguments swirl around whether it’s wise to proceed without public scrutiny of what went wrong during the last presidential campaign. But scant attention has focused on how hiding the autopsy provides an assist to Kamala Harris, who currently leads in polling of Democrats for the party’s 2028 nomination.
As Harris eyes another run, she has a major stake in the DNC continuing to keep the autopsy under wraps—and has a lot to lose if it reaches the light of day. She must feel gratified when Martin defends keeping the autopsy secret, saying that the party should not “relitigate” the 2024 election and claiming that release of the 200-page document would result in “navel-gazing.”
Release of the entire autopsy would likely be a blow to Harris’s chances of becoming president in January 2029. Partly based on interviews with more than 300 prominent Democrats and others in all 50 states, it reportedly concludes that Harris’s unwavering support for US weapons shipments to Israel was a significant factor in her loss to Donald Trump.
While she pursued an unsuccessful strategy of wooing scarce “moderate” Republican voters, many in the Democratic base were repelled by the full backing that Harris gave to President Biden’s massive arming of Israel as civilian deaths mounted in Gaza. She adhered to Biden’s admonition that there be “no daylight” between the two of them as she campaigned for president after he withdrew from the race.
The DNC’s scrapping of the autopsy is a political gift that keeps on giving to Harris as she appears to be gearing up for the 2028 campaign.
At the time, polls showed that Harris was harming her election prospects by refusing to distance herself from Biden’s policy toward Israel. She evades that reality in her post-election book 107 Days, which dismisses antiwar protesters at her rallies as mere “hecklers.”
Harris’s protracted book tour has been beset by disruptions as well as her inability to provide cogent responses. At one appearance last fall, protesters yelled “Your legacy is genocide! Your legacy will always be genocide!” Her rejoinder was, “You know what, I am not president of the United States. You want to go to the White House and talk to him, then go on and do that.” Weeks later, speaking in Chicago, when a protester accused her of complicity in the Gaza horrors, she fired back: “Are you the same person that was telling people not to vote?”
Renewed attention to the Harris 2024 finances would also be unwelcome. Thirteen months after the election, the New York Timesreported, “some Democratic donors have demanded a more thorough accounting of how exactly the party and Ms. Harris spent $1.5 billion in 15 weeks en route to losing every battleground state in 2024.” In mid-April, NBC News noted that “to date, a full accounting has not been made of who was paid what from the $1.5 billion, though the DNC later disclosed it carried more than $20 million in debt from Harris’s loss.”
A few weeks ago, Harris told an audience of influential black leaders that she’s “thinking about” running for president again and said that “I know what the job is and I know what it requires.” Politico described those comments as “the most explicit sign yet she’ll run for president in 2028.”
Release of the entire autopsy would likely be a blow to Harris’s chances of becoming president in January 2029.
Just about the last thing Harris would need is enormous publicity about an authoritative audit from the DNC—the governing body of the Democratic party—about what was wrong with her 2024 campaign. Such an autopsy would stoke fires of negativity and apprehension about making her the party’s standard-bearer again.
The DNC’s scrapping of the autopsy is a political gift that keeps on giving to Harris as she appears to be gearing up for the 2028 campaign. A straw in the wind: The DNC national coalitions director, Gabriel Uy, recently emailed colleagues that he will leave that job in early May to “be working for VP Harris again, so let’s keep in touch.” Uy was the Nevada political director for Harris’s presidential campaign in 2019 and then deputy director of public engagement and intergovernmental affairs for Harris when she was vice president. Other high-level DNC employees will probably also be migrating to the Harris staff.
Under ongoing pressure from a variety of Democrats, Martin has begun to indicate that he will supply “top lines” summarizing the autopsy. Such a move would do little to placate critics, raising pointed questions about what was omitted and why the DNC was only willing to engage in cherry-picking instead of fully informing the party faithful.
During an MS NOW television interview in late April, while he used head-spinning illogic to defend concealing the autopsy, Martin went out of his way to say “I’m not here to protect anyone.” The interviewer had not asked if he was protecting anyone. It seemed to be an instance of “the chairman doth protest too much.”
Martin has properly emphasized that the Democratic National Committee should maintain strict neutrality in relation to presidential primaries, unlike what happened in 2016 when the DNC secretly assistedHillary Clinton against Bernie Sanders. A year ago, in a well-publicized dustup with David Hogg, then in a brief stint as DNC vice chair, Martin insisted that Hogg could not run a funding operation for candidates in party primaries and remain a DNC officer.
“I am determined to make sure we don’t repeat the same errors of the past,” Martin wrote in Time magazine. He explained that “I’ve spent the past decade making sure our party cannot ever again be perceived as having a thumb on the scale for one candidate.”
But now, in effect, Martin’s concealment of the autopsy report puts a thumb on the scale for one candidate: Kamala Harris.
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Vigil organizers displayed poster boards on Sproul Plaza featuring poetry and photos of the school and those killed in the strike. Casey Scaduto | Staff
Campus student groups organized a candlelight vigil with more than 100 attendees on Sproul Plaza on Tuesday evening to honor those killed during the Feb. 28 missile strike on Shajareh Tayyebeh Elementary School in Minab, Iran.
U.S. military investigators found the United States were likely responsible for the attack that killed about 168 people, including 110 students.
“The difficulty in having a candlelight vigil is that you hope that it will stop,” said ethnic studies lecturer Hatem Bazian. “But unfortunately, as we’re seeing the development around the world, it doesn’t look like there is any stopping anytime soon.”
Vigil organizers displayed poster boards featuring poetry and photos of the school and those killed in the strike. A projector played a video of Josephine Guilbeau, a former U.S. Army counterterrorism officer, in which she alleged the U.S. strike constituted a war crime. Following Guilbeau’s speech, the projector also played home videos of the children who were killed.
A member of UC Berkeley’s Ahlul Bayt Student Association, who requested anonymity because of fear of retribution, said it took about two weeks to organize the event.
“I’m a graduating senior right now, and seeing these backpacks with red blood on them or these innocent faces, I can’t help but think that I’m so privileged to be able to experience my education at a university,” the member said.
Maryam Farahmand-Asil, UC Berkeley alumna and assistant professor at Northeastern University, first approached Ahlul Bayt Student Association and other student groups to organize the event.
Farahmand-Asil had been planning the event for more than a month with the intention to raise campus awareness of the missile strike.
“About 168 students were killed on a strike in just one day, during school time — they didn’t know that the war happened,” Farahand-Asil said. “We want to raise awareness to all the students … So when they see what’s happened, they just search and they see how they can help.”
Another student group that helped organize the event was the campus chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine.
A member of SJP, who requested anonymity because of fear of retribution, highlighted Sproul as a “great and accessible space” to hold the vigil.
Fateme D. Montazeri, a scholar at campus’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies, said she connected with the event on a personal level.
“I have long followed violence in the Middle East, but this one reached me differently,” Montazeri said. “Was it because the children of Minab spoke my mother tongue? … For the first time, I could not maintain the distance between what I knew and what I felt.”
Has Trump’s rhetoric inspired acts of violence? ABC News’ Kyra Phillips examines dozens of cases invoking President Donald Trump in connection with violence, threats and alleged assaults.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly distanced himself from acts of violence in communities across America, dismissing critics who point to his rhetoric as a potential source of inspiration or comfort for anyone acting on even long-held beliefs of bigotry and hate.
“I think my rhetoric brings people together,” he said last year, four days after a 21-year-old allegedly posted an anti-immigrant screed online and then allegedly opened fire at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, killing 22 and injuring dozens of others.
But a nationwide review conducted by ABC News has identified at least 54 criminal cases where Trump was invoked in direct connection with violent acts, threats of violence or allegations of assault.
After a Latino gas station attendant in Gainesville, Florida, was suddenly punched in the head by a white man, the victim could be heard on surveillance camera recounting the attacker’s own words: “He said, ‘This is for Trump.'” Charges were filed but the victim stopped pursuing them.
When police questioned a Washington state man about his threats to kill a local Syrian-born man, the suspect told police he wanted the victim to “get out of my country,” adding, “That’s why I like Trump.”
Reviewing police reports and court records, ABC News found that in at least 12 cases perpetrators hailed Trump in the midst or immediate aftermath of physically assaulting innocent victims. In another 18 cases, perpetrators cheered or defended Trump while taunting or threatening others. And in another 10 cases, Trump and his rhetoric were cited in court to explain a defendant’s violent or threatening behavior.
When three Kansas men were on trial for plotting to bomb a largely-Muslim apartment complex in Garden City, Kansas, one of their lawyers told the jury that the men “were concerned about what now-President Trump had to say about the concept of Islamic terrorism.” Another lawyer insisted Trump had become “the voice of a lost and ignored white, working-class set of voters,” and Trump’s rhetoric meant someone “who would often be at a 7 during a normal day, might ‘go to 11.'”
Thirteen cases identified by ABC News involved violent or threatening acts perpetrated in defiance of Trump, with many of them targeting Trump’s allies in Congress. But the vast majority of the cases – 41 of the 54 – reflect someone echoing presidential rhetoric, not protesting it.
ABC News could not find a single criminal case filed in federal or state court where an act of violence or threat was made in the name of President Barack Obama or President George W. Bush.
The 54 cases identified by ABC News are remarkable in that a link to the president is captured in court documents and police statements, under the penalty of perjury or contempt. These links are not speculative – they are documented in official records. And in the majority of cases identified by ABC News, it was perpetrators themselves who invoked the president in connection with their case, not anyone else.
Shoppers exit after a mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, Aug. 3, 2019.Reuters
The perpetrators and suspects identified in the 54 cases are mostly white men – as young as teenagers and as old as 75 – while the victims largely represent an array of minority groups – African-Americans, Latinos, Muslims and gay men.
Federal law enforcement authorities have privately told ABC News they worry that – although Trump has offered public denunciations of violence – his statements have been inconsistent and Trump’s style could inspire violence-prone individuals to take action against minorities or others they perceive to be against the president’s agenda.
“Any public figure could have the effect of inspiring people,” FBI Director Chris Wray told a Senate panel last year. “But remember that the people who commit hate fueled violence are not logical, rational people.”
While asserting that “fake” media coverage is exacerbating divisions in the country, Trump has noted that “a fan” of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders opened fire on Republican lawmakers playing baseball in a Washington suburb two years ago. “Nobody puts … ‘Bernie Sanders’ in the headline with the maniac,” Trump said last year.
And, last year, Trump similarly insisted that the man who fatally shot nine people in Dayton, Ohio, three days earlier “supported” Sanders and other liberal causes.
But there’s no indication either of those shooters mentioned Sanders while launching their attacks, and no charges were ever filed because they were both fatally shot during their assaults.
In addition, a president inhabits a unique position in America, with access to a special bully pulpit. On Twitter, Trump currently has 80.7 million followers – nearly seven times the number of Sanders followers.
In identifying the 54 Trump-related cases, ABC News excluded incidents of vandalism. ABC News also excluded many cases of violence – from attacks on anti-Trump protesters at Trump rallies to certain assaults on people wearing “Make America Great Again” hats – that did not establish explicit ties to Trump in court records or police reports. Similarly, being a documented Trump supporter who committed an assault, even at a Trump-related location, would not be enough to be included if official records did not document a specific connection to Trump.
ABC News found several cases where pro-Trump defendants were charged with targeting minorities, or where speculation online suggested the defendants were motivated by Trump, but in those cases ABC News found no police records, court proceedings or other direct evidence presenting a definitive link to the president.
In many cases of assault or threat, charges are never filed, perpetrators are never identified or the incident is never even reported to authorities. And most criminal acts committed by Trump supporters or his detractors have nothing to do with the president. But in 54 cases, court records and police reports indicated some sort of link.
Nevertheless, Trump has said he deserves “no blame” for what he called the “hatred” seemingly coursing through parts of the country. And he told reporters that he’s “committed to doing everything” in his power to not let political violence “take root in America.”
The White House did not respond to a request seeking comment for this report.
Here are the 54 cases identified by ABC News:
An undated police photo of Steven Leader.Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office
Aug. 19, 2015: In Boston, after he and his brother beat a sleeping homeless man of Mexican descent with a metal pole, Steven Leader, 30, told police “Donald Trump was right, all these illegals need to be deported.” The victim, however, was not in the United States illegally. The brothers, who are white, ultimately pleaded guilty to several assault-related charges and were each sentenced to at least two years in prison.
Dec. 5, 2015: After Penn State University student Nicholas Tavella, 19, was charged with “ethnic intimidation” and other crimes for threatening to “put a bullet” in a young Indian man on campus, his attorney argued in court that Tavella was just motivated by “a love of country,” not “hate.” “Donald Trump is running for President of the United States saying that, ‘We’ve got to check people out more closely,'” Tavella’s attorney argued in his defense. Tavella, who is white, ultimately pleaded guilty to ethnic intimidation and was sentenced to up to two years in prison.
One of four IEDs recovered by law enforcement at the home of John Roos in April 2016.U.S. Department of Justice
April 28, 2016: When FBI agents arrested 61-year-old John Martin Roos in White City, Oregon, for threatening federal officials, including then-President Barack Obama, they found several pipe bombs and guns in his home. In the three months before his arrest, Roos posted at least 34 messages to Twitter about Trump, repeatedly threatening African Americans, Muslims, Mexican immigrants and the “liberal media,” and in court documents, prosecutors noted that the avowed Trump supporter posted this threatening message to Facebook a month earlier: “The establishment is trying to steal the election from Trump. … Obama is already on a kill list … Your [name] can be there too.” Roos, who is white, has since pleaded guilty to possessing an unregistered explosive device and posting internet threats against federal officials. He was sentenced to more than five years in prison.
June 3, 2016: After 54-year-old Henry Slapnik attacked his African-American neighbors with a knife in Cleveland, he told police “Donald Trump will fix them because they are scared of Donald Trump,” according to police reports. Slapnik, who is white, ultimately pleaded guilty to “ethnic intimidation” and other charges. It’s unclear what sentence he received.
Aug. 16, 2016: In Olympia, Washington, 32-year-old Daniel Rowe attacked a white woman and a black man with a knife after seeing them kiss on a popular street. When police arrived on the scene, Rowe professed to being “a white supremacist” and said “he planned on heading down to the next Donald Trump rally and stomping out more of the Black Lives Matter group,” according to court documents filed in the case. Rowe, who is white, ultimately pleaded guilty to charges of assault and malicious harassment, and he was sentenced to more than four years in prison.
Henry Slapnik in an undated police photo.Cleveland Police Department
Sept. 1, 2016: The then-chief of the Bordentown, New Jersey, police department, Frank Nucera, allegedly assaulted an African American teenager who was handcuffed. Federal prosecutors said the attack was part of Nucera’s “intense racial animus,” noting in federal court that “within hours” of the assault, Nucera was secretly recorded saying “Donald Trump is the last hope for white people.” The 60-year-old Nucera, who is white, was indicted by a federal grand jury on three charges, including committing a federal hate crime and lying to the FBI about the alleged assault. He was convicted of lying to the FBI, but a jury deadlocked on the other charges, so Nucera is now awaiting a second trial. He has pleaded not guilty.
September 2016: After 40-year-old Mark Feigin of Los Angeles was arrested for posting anti-Muslim and allegedly threatening statements to a mosque’s Facebook page, his attorney argued in court that the comments were protected by the First Amendment because Feigin was “using similar language and expressing similar views” to “campaign statements from then-candidate Donald Trump.” Noting that his client “supported Donald Trump,” attorney Caleb Mason added that “Mr. Feigin’s comments were directed toward a pressing issue of public concern that was a central theme of the Trump campaign and the 2016 election generally: the Islamic roots of many international and U.S. terrorist acts.” Feigin, who is white, ultimately pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of sending harassing communications electronically. He was sentenced to probation.
Oct. 10, 2016: Police in Albany, New York, arrested 55-year-old Todd Warnken for threatening an African-American woman at a local grocery store “because of her race,” according to a police report. Warnken allegedly told the victim, “Trump is going to win, and if you don’t like it I’m gonna beat your ass you n—-r,” the police report said. He ultimately pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge in the case and completed a local “restorative justice program,” allowing the charges against him to be dismissed, according to the district attorney’s office.
Oct. 13, 2016: After the FBI arrested three white Kansas men for plotting to bomb an apartment complex in Garden City, Kansas, where many Somali immigrants lived, one of the men’s attorneys insisted to a federal judge that the plot was “self-defensive” because the three men believed “that if Donald Trump won the election, President Obama would not recognize the validity of those results, that he would declare martial law, and that at that point militias all over the country would have to step in.” Then, after a federal grand jury convicted 47-year-old Patrick Stein and the two other men of conspiracy-related charges, Stein’s attorney argued for a lighter sentence based on “the backdrop” of Stein’s actions: Trump had become “the voice of a lost and ignored white, working-class set of voters” like Stein, and the “climate” at the time could propel someone like Stein to “go to 11,” attorney Jim Pratt said in court. Stein and his two accomplices were each sentenced to at least 25 years in prison.
Nov. 3, 2016: In Tampa, Florida, David Howard threatened to burn down the house next to his “simply because” it was being purchased by a Muslim family, according to the Justice Department. He later said under oath that while he harbored a years-long dislike for Muslims, the circumstances around the home sale were “the match that lit the wick.” He cited Trump’s warnings about immigrants from majority-Muslim countries. “[With] the fact that the president wants these six countries vetted, everybody vetted before they come over, there’s a concern about Muslims,” Howard said. Howard, who is white, ultimately pleaded guilty to a federal civil rights violation, and the 59-year-old was sentenced to eight months in prison.
A surveillance camera at a store in Gainesville, Fla., captures what police described as an unprovoked attack on a Hispanic man cleaning the store’s parking lot. Nov. 10, 2016.Gainesville Police Department
Nov. 10, 2016: A 23-year-old man from High Springs, Florida, allegedly assaulted an unsuspecting Hispanic man who was cleaning a parking lot outside of a local food store. “[H]e was suddenly struck in the back of the head,” a police report said of the victim. “[The victim] asked the suspect why he hit him, to which the suspect replied, ‘This is for Donald Trump.’ The suspect then grabbed [the victim] by the jacket and proceeded to strike him several more times,” according to the report. Surveillance video of the incident “completely corroborated [the victim’s] account of events,” police said. The suspect was arrested on battery charges, but the case was dropped after the victim decided not to pursue the matter, police said. Efforts by ABC News to reach the victim for further explanation were not successful.
Nov. 12, 2016: In Grand Rapids, Michigan, while attacking a cab driver from East Africa, 23-year-old Jacob Holtzlander shouted racial epithets and repeatedly yelled the word, “Trump,” according to law enforcement records. Holtzlander, who is white, ultimately pleaded guilty to a charge of ethnic intimidation, and he was sentenced to 30 days in jail.
Nov. 16, 2016: Police in San Antonio, Texas, arrested 32-year-old Dusty Paul Lacombe after he and a companion assaulted a black man at a convenience store. According to a police report, Lacombe “stepped out of a vehicle and walked to the [victim] and stated he was a Trump supporter and swung at him several times.” The victim “was punched in the face several times,” the police report said. When police arrived, Lacombe – who “smelled strongly of alcohol” – “stated something about Trump and admitted to fighting with [the victim],” the police report noted. Lacombe was charged with misdemeanor assault and ultimately received “deferred adjudication,” which is akin to probation. Lacombe ultimately pleaded “no contest” to the charge and was granted “deferred adjudication” with a $450 fine.
Jan. 3, 2017: In Chicago, four young African-Americans — sisters Brittany and Tanishia Covington, Jordan Hill and Tesfaye Cooper — tied up a white, mentally disabled man and assaulted him, forcing him to recite the phrases “F–k Donald Trump” and “F–k white people” while they broadcast the attack online. Each of them ultimately pleaded guilty to committing a hate crime and other charges, and three of them were sentenced to several years in prison.
Jan. 25, 2017: At JFK International Airport in New York, a female Delta employee, wearing a hijab in accordance with her Muslim faith, was “physically and verbally” attacked by 57-year-old Robin Rhodes of Worcester, Mass., “for no apparent reason,” prosecutors said at the time. When the victim asked Brown what she did to him, he replied: “You did nothing, but … [Expletive] Islam. [Expletive] ISIS. Trump is here now. He will get rid of all of you.” Rhodes ultimately pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of “menacing,” and he was sentenced to probation.
Feb. 19, 2017: After 35-year-old Gerald Wallace called a mosque in Miami Gardens, Florida, and threatened to “shoot all y’all,” he told the FBI and police that he made the call because he “got angry” from a local TV news report about a terrorist act. At a rally in Florida the day before, Trump falsely claimed that Muslim refugees had just launched a terrorist attack in Sweden.
WATCH WALLACE’S INTERVIEW WITH THE FBI AND POLICE:
FBI and police interview suspect in mosque threatsABC News obtained video from an FBI and police interview with George Sloane Wallace on Feb. 27, 2017.
ABCNews.com
Wallace’s attorney, Katie Carmon, later tried to convince a federal judge that the threat to kill worshippers could be “protected speech” due to the “very distinctly political climate” at the time. “There are courts considering President Trump’s travel ban … and the president himself has made some very pointed statements about what he thinks about people of this descent,” Carmon argued in court.
Trump addressing the press at the Hanoi Summit, 2019
The rhetoric of Donald Trump, the 45th and 47th president of the United States, is widely recognized for its unique populist, nationalistic, and confrontational style. It has been the subject of extensive analysis by linguists, political scientists, and communication experts. Known for its direct and unfiltered approach, Trump’s rhetoric emphasizes themes of crisis, division, and loyalty, often casting himself as an outsider fighting against a corrupt political establishment. Central to his communication strategy are emotional appeals that resonate with voter insecurity, promises of restoring past national “greatness”, and the use of simple, repetitive language that amplifies his message to broad audiences.
Trump’s rhetoric often frames complex issues in binary terms, using absolutes such as “always” and “never” to express uncompromising stances. This strategy creates a polarized worldview, encouraging audiences to see political opponents and external threats as existential dangers to the nation. Trump’s rhetoric often uses superlatives to contrast and compare his own ideas and plans to those of others, usually comparing the “Best” to the “Worst”. His rhetorical style is further characterized by a high volume of lies, sometimes leveraging what analysts describe as the “firehose of falsehood” propaganda technique. This approach to information dissemination—marked by sheer volume and speed—can overwhelm fact-checking mechanisms and further entrench his narratives among his supporters.
Throughout his political career, Trump has been noted for using inflammatory language, including violent terms and metaphors, particularly when discussing immigration, crime, and political adversaries. His rhetoric has been linked by some scholars to an increase in political hostility and even violence, as it often features direct or implied threats against perceived enemies. Additionally, his speeches frequently draw on populist themes, casting blame on specific groups or individuals for societal problems, which scholars argue has contributed to an atmosphere of distrust and division within the U.S.
Critics argue that Trump’s communication style borrows from authoritarian playbooks, citing his use of scapegoating, appeals to nationalism, and rhetorical attacks on the media. While supporters view his rhetoric as a refreshing departure from political correctness and establishment politics, detractors contend it erodes democratic norms and fuels divisiveness. This rhetoric remains a defining element of Trump’s influence on American politics, with his third consecutive campaign in 2024 being ultimately successful.
Trump’s rhetoric has its roots in a populist political method that suggests nationalistic answers to political, economic, and social problems.[1] It employs absolutist framings and threat narratives[2] characterized by a rejection of the political establishment.[3] Trump’s rhetoric has been identified as using a three-fold rhetorical strategy, that being “it tells audiences what is wrong with the current state of affairs; it identifies the political agents that are responsible for putting individuals and the country in a state of loss and crisis; and it offers an abstract pathway through which people can restore past greatness by opting for a high-risk outsider candidate”. Through the creation of a crisis narrative, Trump’s rhetoric relies on creating a sense of insecurity among voters that it promises to eradicate for political gain.[4] His absolutist rhetoric emphasizes non-negotiable boundaries and moral outrage at their supposed violation,[5] and heavily favors crowd reaction over veracity, with a large number of falsehoods which Trump presents as facts,[6] which have been described as using the big lie,[7] and firehose of falsehood propaganda technique.[8]
Trump’s scenic construction (introduction of characters and setting stage depicting an issue) uses black and white terms such as “totally”, “absolutely”, “every”, “complete”, and “forever” to describe malevolent forces, or the coming victory. For example, Trump described John Kerry as a “total disaster”, and said that Obamacare would “destroy American health care forever”. Kenneth Burke referred to this type of “all or none” staging as characteristic of “burlesque” rhetoric.[9] He frequently shifts positions and contradicts himself, sometimes in the same day, in a rhetorical tactic described as presenting him plausible deniability through dueling narratives and allowing the American public the ability to pick and chose what they want to believe about his intentions.[10]
By 2024, The New York Times reported that Trump’s speeches had grown “darker, harsher, longer, angrier, less focused, more profane and increasingly fixated on the past” and that experts described it as increasingly rambling, tangential, and featuring behavioral disinhibition as a possible consequence of advancing age and cognitive decline. It highlighted an average rally length of 82 minutes compared with 45 minutes in 2016, and a 13% increase in use of all-or-nothing terms such as “always” and “never”. It also found 32% more negative words than positive words compared with 21% in 2016, and a 69% increase in swearwords.[11] Trump described his rambling, off-script style of speaking as “the weave” and insisted it was both intentional and oratorical genius.[12]
During his second presidency, Trump’s rhetoric has leaned into likening himself as a higher figure than president. Examples include saying “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law” and comparing himself to a king.[13][14][15] White House social media posted an image depicting Trump with a crown, and Trump and his allies referred to him with monarchical terminology and claims of divine legitimacy.[16]
Analysis
Trump speaking at one of his rallies in Arizona, October 2020
Research has identified Trump’s rhetoric as heavily using vitriol, demeaning language, false equivalency, exclusion,[17] and fearmongering[18][19][20][21] about immigrants, crime, and minorities as essential to his support.[22][23] In a 2016 interview with Bob Woodward and Robert Costa, Trump said that, “Real power is — I don’t even want to use the word — fear.”[24] Trump uses rhetoric that political scientists have deemed to be both dehumanizing and connected to physical violence by his followers.[25] Sociologist Arlie Hochschild states that emotional themes in Trump’s rhetoric are fundamental, writing that his “speeches—evoking dominance, bravado, clarity, national pride, and personal uplift—inspire an emotional transformation”, deeply resonating with their “emotional self-interest”.[26][27] One study suggests that the use of spectacular racist rhetoric aided in the significant environmental deregulation that occurred during the first year of the Trump administration. According to the authors, this served political objectives of dehumanizing its targets, eroding democratic norms, and consolidating power by emotionally connecting with and inflaming resentments among the base of followers, but most importantly served to distract media attention from deregulatory policymaking by igniting intense media coverage of the distractions, precisely due to their radically transgressive nature.[28]The New York Times described his vilification of his political opponents and journalists as unlike any modern American president, with him frequently referring to them as “evil”.[29] For instance, in 2025, Trump called Democrats “the party of hate, evil, and Satan“;[30] in 2024 he called Democrats “demonic”,[31] and referred to them at rallies as “so evil”, “dangerous”, “the enemy within”, and that “They’re Marxists and communists and fascists, and they’re sick”.[32]
According to civil rights lawyer Burt Neuborne and political theorist William E. Connolly, Trump’s rhetoric employs tropes similar to those used by fascists in Germany[33] to persuade citizens (at first a minority) to give up democracy, by using a barrage of falsehoods, half-truths, personal invective, threats, xenophobia, national-security scares, religious bigotry, white racism, exploitation of economic insecurity, and a never-ending search for scapegoats.[34] Connolly presents a similar list in his book Aspirational Fascism (2017), adding comparisons of the integration of theatrics and crowd participation with rhetoric, involving grandiose bodily gestures, grimaces, hysterical charges, dramatic repetitions of alternate reality falsehoods, and totalistic assertions incorporated into signature phrases that audiences are strongly encouraged to join in chanting.[35] Despite the similarities, Connolly stresses that Trump is no Nazi but “is rather, an aspirational fascist who pursues crowd adulation, hyperaggressive nationalism, white triumphalism, and militarism, pursues a law-and-order regime giving unaccountable power to the police, and is a practitioner of a rhetorical style that regularly creates fake news and smears opponents to mobilize support for the Big Lies he advances”.[33]
It has been suggested that Trump’s Big Lies consist of bullshit rather than of lying as strictly defined.[36][37] According to Harry Frankfurt‘s 2005 book On Bullshit, the liar cares about the truth and attempts to hide it, while the bullshitter does not care whether what they say is true or false.[38] By ignoring the facts, bullshit has the power to guide group beliefs in a politically desirable direction and thereby to shape group identities.[36]
Media ethicistKelly McBride has commented that it is a difficult task for journalists to convey this rhetoric in a succinct way, which results in criticisms of “sanewashing“; that is, that journalists are “selectively quoting his speeches to make them sound more coherent than they actually are” and “packaging Trump’s ideas into news stories as if they are sensible suggestions”.[39]
Trumpisms
“Trumpisms” redirects here. For the political movement, see Trumpism.
Trump’s “Make America Great Again!” sign used during his 2016 presidential campaign before Trump selected Mike Pence as his vice presidential running mate
Trumpisms or Trump-speak are the mannerisms, rhetoric, and characteristic phrases or statements of Trump.[40][41] They have been described as colorful comments that “only Trump could get away with”.[42][43] By 2016, Politico observed that what used to be called Trump’s gaffes now had the official designation of “Trumpisms”.[44][45] They have become well-known and are the subject of numerous comedic impersonations that imitate Trump’s confident exaggerations and general lack of detail.[46][47] An MIT student built a Twitter bot that used artificial intelligence to parody the President with “remarkably Trump-like statements”.[48] Artificial intelligence has also been used to analyze Trump-speak.[49] Trump’s children have acknowledged his atypical speech patterns, with both Ivanka and Eric Trump stating that they share some of their father’s Trumpisms.[50]
Journalist Emily Greenhouse noted in a 2015 Bloomberg article that Trump may be the most quotable man in politics and highlighted the following example:[51]
I’m the most successful person ever to run for the presidency, by far. Nobody’s ever been more successful than me. I’m the most successful person ever to run. Ross Perot isn’t successful like me. Romney—I have a Gucci store that’s worth more than Romney.[52]
Trump has been identified as a key figure in increasing political violence in America both for and against him.[57][25][58] Trump has embraced extremism, conspiracy theories such as Q-Anon, and far-right militia movements to a greater extent than any modern American president.[59][60] Trump has espoused combative and violent rhetoric and promised retribution against his political enemies.[67] Trump’s normalization and revisionist history of the January 6 Capitol attack and grant of clemency to all January 6 rioters including the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers was described by counterterrorism researchers as encouraging future political violence,[68][69] and Trump later suggested the two groups may have a place in the political conversation.[70][71]
In 2023, Reuters released a series of reports examining the highest levels of politically motivated violence since the 1970s that started in 2016 when Trump first ran for president, which has seen relatively more violence directed at people instead of property. Reuters notes a few theories for this increase, including the ‘coarsening’ political rhetoric of the Trump era.[72] They also found that the people who murdered others for political reasons since January 6, 2021, have mostly been associated with the extreme right.[73]
Trump’s rhetoric has been described as using Argumentum ad baculum, or an appeal to force and intimidation to coerce behavior.[74] Trump has been noted to use either direct or veiled comments with plausible deniability suggesting the possibility of violence by his supporters.[75][76][77][78][79] He has been described as using stochastic terrorism.[80][81] In Politico, Michael Schaffer wrote, “In the 45th and possibly 47th president, America has a leading political figure of unprecedented rhetorical violence.”[82]
Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign announcement has been criticized for its dehumanizing rhetoric about Mexican immigrants with his comments that, “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best … They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with [them]. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”[83][84]
On February 1, 2016, in response to an individual throwing two tomatoes at Trump, he told his rally at Cedar Rapids, Iowa that should a similar incident happen, the audience should, “knock the crap out of ’em, would you?”[85][86]
On February 23, 2016, after a heckler was removed from one of his rallies at Las Vegas, Nevada, Trump told the audience that, “I’d like to punch him in the face, I tell you.”[87]
In 2016, stochastic terrorism was an “obscure” academic term according to professor David S. Cohen.[88] During an August 9, 2016, campaign rally, then-candidate Donald Trump remarked, “If [Hillary Clinton] gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is. I don’t know.” These comments were widely condemned as instigating violence, and described by Cohen as “stochastic terrorism”, further popularizing the term.[89][88][90]
In response to the growing threat of ISIS, Trump called for the targeted killing of terrorists’ family members, which drew near-unanimous condemnation.[91][92][93]
On July 28, 2017, while giving a speech to police officers, Trump said “don’t be too nice” when arresting suspects.[94] His remarks were criticized by NYPD commissioner James O’Neill.[95]
On February 5, 2018, Trump implied that Democrats that did not applaud him during his State of the Union address may have committed “treason”.[96] His comment was criticized by Senator Dick Durbin.[97]
In May 2019, during a Trump campaign rally, an audience member suggested shooting illegal migrants crossing the border, to which Trump responded with a joke, saying, “only in the Panhandle you can get away with that”.[98][99][100][101]
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Trump routinely used the phrases “China virus” and “Kung flu”, which were scrutinized due to their perceived insensitivity to the rising hate crimes against Asian Americans.[102][103] Trump frequently criticized Antifa and BLM protestors in language that some found concerning.[104][105] Trump also repeatedly criticized election methods (especially mail-in voting) in certain states, which led to election workers being harassed.[106] Assaults and threats against election workers by supporters of Trump increased significantly after the election inspired by his false claims that the election was stolen, which Reuters called “a campaign of intimidation that is stressing the foundation of American democracy”.[107] Reuters explicitly labeled some of the death threats as inspired by Donald Trump.[108] The Justice Department has reviewed over 2000 threats made to election workers, various jurisdictions have brought charges against some of those threatening election workers and 12 states have strengthened laws protecting election workers.[109][110]
On May 30, 2020, ABC News published a story that found 54 instances of violence, alleged assaults and threats where Trump was explicitly invoked in court records or other documents, with 41 echoing Trump and 13 in defiance to Trump.[111] On January 9, 2021, Vox published “a comprehensive timeline of Trump encouraging hate groups and political violence”.[112]
Trump’s 2024 campaign has been noted for using increasingly violent rhetoric against his political enemies.[25][113][114][115] Trump has attacked the witnesses, judges, juries, and families of individuals involved in his criminal trials.[116][117][118] As with his previous presidential campaigns,[119][120][121] Trump’s 2024 campaign has regularly espoused anti-immigrant nativist[122]fearmongering,[a] racial stereotypes,[122] and dehumanized immigrants.[132][133][134][25][113][114] Trump’s anti-immigration tone has grown harsher compared to his previous time as president.[135] Several of Trump’s statements and actions have been accused of echoing Nazi rhetoric, far-right ideology, antisemitism, and white supremacy.[136][137] According to The New York Times in 2023, scholars are undecided about whether Trump’s “rhetorical turn into more fascist-sounding territory is just his latest public provocation of the left, an evolution in his beliefs, or the dropping of a veil”. It also reported that some experts concluded that Trump “exhibits traits similar to current strongmen such as Viktor Orbán of Hungary or Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey”.[138] Trump’s harsher rhetoric against his political enemies has been described by historians and scholars as populist, authoritarian, fascist,[b] and unlike anything a political candidate has ever said in American history.[139][135] In the 20 rallies since Trump’s debate with Kamala Harris, Politico found his rhetoric, especially around immigrants, getting darker, citing experts who found it strongly echoed authoritarian and Nazi ideology.[147] He suggested former General Mark Milley be executed and accused him of disloyalty.[57]
Trump’s campaign statements were connected to an embrace of right-wing extremism.[59][136][148] He proclaimed that undocumented immigrants were “poisoning the blood of our country” and had “bad genes,” which, according to some commentators, strikingly resembled Hitler and white supremacists‘ racial hygiene rhetoric.[114][149][150] On Veterans Day 2023, he called some of his political opponents “vermin,” which also seemed to echo Hitler and Benito Mussolini‘s language.[115][151][152] Trump demonized his political opponents; Democrats were labelled as “evil” and “demonic”,[153][154] and Harris as “the Antichrist“.[155] Trump labelled illegal immigrants as subhuman:[156] “vile animals”,[157] “savages”,[158] “not human”,[156] “not people”,[159] “stone-cold killers”,[130] “monsters”,[130] and “predators”.[158] At rallies, the former President stated that they will “walk in your kitchen, they’ll cut your throat”,[157] and “grab young girls and slice them up right in front of their parents”.[158] On multiple occasions, Trump and Republicans promoted the conspiracy that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were looting and eating people’s pets.[158][160] As a result of their efforts, dozens of bomb threats emerged targeting Springfield schools, hospitals, public buildings, and businesses.[161]
Yeah, there is one thing. My own morality. My own mind. It’s the only thing that can stop me. I don’t need international law. I’m not looking to hurt people.
New York Times White House corrspondents wrote that “Mr. Trump’s assessment … was the most blunt acknowledgment yet of his worldview. At its core is the concept that national strength, rather than laws, treaties and conventions, should be the deciding factor as powers collide.”[162]
Fact-checkers from The Washington Post[180] (top, monthly), the Toronto Star,[181] and CNN[182][183] (bottom, weekly) compiled data on “false or misleading claims” (orange) and “false claims” (blue), respectively. The peaks corresponded in late 2018 to the midterm elections, in late 2019 to his impeachment inquiry, and in late 2020 to the presidential election. The Post reported 30,573 false or misleading claims in four years,[180] an average of more than 20.9 per day.
Trump escalated use of “rigged election” and “election interference” statements in advance of the 2024 election compared to the previous two elections—the statements described as part of a “heads I win; tails you cheated” rhetorical strategy.[184]
During and after his term as President of the United States, Trump made tens of thousands of false or misleading claims. The Washington Post‘s fact-checkers documented 30,573 false or misleading claims during his presidential term, an average of about 21 per day.[180][185][186][187] The Toronto Star tallied 5,276 false claims from January 2017 to June 2019, an average of 6.1 per day.[181] Commentators and fact-checkers have described the scale of Trump’s mendacity as “unprecedented” in American politics,[193] and the consistency of falsehoods a distinctive part of his business and political identities.[194] Scholarly analysis of Trump’s tweets found “significant evidence” of an intent to deceive.
By June 2019, after initially resisting, many news organizations began to describe some of his falsehoods as “lies”.[195]The Washington Post said his frequent repetition of claims he knew to be false amounted to a campaign based on disinformation.[196] Trump campaign CEO and presidency chief strategist Steve Bannon said that the press, rather than Democrats, was Trump’s primary adversary and “the way to deal with them is to flood the zone with shit”.[197][198]
On June 8, 2023, a grand jury indicted Trump on one count of making “false statements and representations”, specifically by hiding subpoenaed classified documents from his own attorney who was trying to find and return them to the government.[199] In August 2023, 21 of Trump’s falsehoods about the 2020 election were listed in his Washington, D.C. indictment,[200] while 27 were listed in his Georgia indictment.[201]
In what Philip Rucker describes as “an apparent nod” to Trump, former FBI Director James Comey reflects on “the psychology of liars”. Comey recalls being a prosecutor against the Mafia, his time in the Trump administration, and the loyalty pledge he was asked to make but refused:
“The silent circle of assent. The boss in complete control. The loyalty oaths. The us-versus-them worldview. The lying about all things, large and small, in service to some code of loyalty that put the organization above morality and above the truth…. [Liars] lose the ability to distinguish between what’s true and what’s not”, Comey writes. “They surround themselves with other liars…. Perks and access are given to those willing to lie and tolerate lies. This creates a culture, which becomes an entire way of life.”[202]
A 2024 New Republic article examined the relationship between lies Trump tells and his approval among voters, suggesting it has a significant impact on his support.[203]
At the beginning of early voting, NPR described Trump as using darker rhetoric including escalating insults, threats and lies.[204]
Incorrectly attributed quotes
Trump’s rhetoric has been repeated and echoed extensively on social media by both Trump supporters and Trump opponents. Due to the limitations of some platforms, such as the 100 character limit on Twitter, now known as X, Trump quotes often lack context. In rare instances, quotes that could credibly be attributed to Trump did not actually originate from Trump himself.[205]
If you haven’t already, take the first step and pledge to take collective action with us on May Day. There are many ways to get involved, from attending an action to fully embracing the call of “no work, no school, no shopping.”
Join a May Day event this Friday. Across the country, people are walking out of school and work to wield our power as workers, consumers, and students. Don’t see an event near you yet or have another idea?Sign up to host your own. You can use this Host Toolkit as a helpful guide.
Some pre-primary shenanigans are afoot, and the culprit appears to be someone linked to state Senator Scott Wiener and/or his campaign, though no one has yet taken responsibility.
A small van emblazoned with the message “Saikat lives in Maryland!” has been seen parked around San Francisco, trolling House candidate Saikat Chakrabarti over a home that he purchased in Maryland in 2018, and declared his primary residence.
And the Chronicle reports today that the van appears to be registered to Conor Johnston, the former aide to Mayor London Breed and longtime local political prankster. Johnston has not taken responsibility for the van, but the stunt makes perfect sense, given Johnston’s longstanding connection to Scott Wiener, who is running against Chakrabarti.
Also, this is a replay of a very similar negative-campaigning effort by Johnston when Daniel Lurie was running against Breed in 2024. As was widely reported that year, Johnston was behind the “Malibu Dan” nickname for Lurie, which was similarly meant to accuse him of carpetbagging and calling out the $15.5 million home Lurie purchased in Malibu’s Point Dume in 2021.
(As a reward for his efforts and his loyalty, Johnston was rumored to be among the potential appointees to the Board of Supervisors to fill Catherine Stefani’s seat, but that instead went to Stephen Sherrill, possibly as a favor to Michael Bloomberg, for whom Sherrill formerly worked and who seems to have been a benefactor of Breed’s.)
The Chronicle notes that Wiener and a super-PAC that is backing him, called Abundant Future, have previously accused Chakrabarti of carpetbagging in his effort to swoop in and run for Nancy Pelosi’s House seat.
Neither Wiener nor the PAC have commented on the provocative van.
As the Chronicle reports, Chakrabarti has denied living outside of San Francisco, and has insisted that he never lived in the Maryland home, which he says he purchased for his parents.
“This city is home. It’s been home for a long time,” Chakrabarti told the paper in an interview. “Like most San Franciscans, I’m not part of the local political establishment. But I’ve also had the opportunity to work in federal politics.”
Those federal policies include the proposed Green New Deal, which Chakrabarti reportedly had a hand in crafting, while working as an aide to Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
And more damage has likely been done to Chakrabarti’s campaign over the recent kerfuffle caused by AOC declining — twice — to publicly endorse him, when asked by a reporter if she would do so.
Pelosi, also, has held back from endorsing a candidate ahead of the primary, perhaps in deference to the labor unions that are backing the third major candidate in the race, SF Supervisor Connie Chan. But Pelosi made an appearance last week at a Chan fundraiser, so there’s that.
The anti-Saikat van has been seen parked in multiple parts of the city, including Twin Peaks and outside Chakrabarti’s own campaign headquarters, per the Chronicle.
Chakrabarti has reportedly spent $5 million, mostly of his own money, on his campaign, which has included many television and online ads. And that has helped him land a seemingly solid second place in recent polling. The most recent poll that was not sponsored by Chakrabarti himself, from pollster GQR, has Wiener in the lead at 44%, Chakrabarti at 26%, and Chan at 11%.
Help Outreach Working Group lift the fog of corporate media. Donate to help us maintain this website and distribute literature on the street.
When you volunteer for Saikat, it’s on us to give you a great experience and a genuine chance to make a difference. We don’t want to waste a second of your time. That’s why we’re always optimizing. And I’m excited to report that this Saturday we talked with 300% more... Continue reading →
Trump Regime Takedown: Every Saturday Saturday, March 7, 2026 12:00 PM 2:00 PM Tesla San Francisco999 Van Ness AvenueSan Francisco, CA, 94109United States (map) Google Calendar ICS Keep democracy alive every Saturday by showing up, taking a stand, and sticking together for the long haul. Standing together is better than standing alone. Let’s get together... Continue reading →
This Sunday’s Town Hall: Announcing This Week’s Progressive Town Hall: Every Sunday at 4pm ET/1pm PT RSVP HERE Join PDA activists online from across the country to discuss the importance of progressives reclaiming the American story from the MAGA right, an issue of heightened importance as we’re now within one... Continue reading →
We protest Heritage Foundation EVERY MONDAY (Join us!!!!) By admin | September 2, 2025 | Uncategorized Cliff Cash Comedy Premiered Jul 26, 2025 Every Monday at The Heritage Foundation 214 Massachusetts Ave. Washington D.C. 4pm protest 6pm pizza Every Friday at Fox News D.C. 400 N. Capitol St. Washington D.C. 4pm protest 6pm pizza We are... Continue reading →
Alice Club PAC recommends Xavier Becerra By admin | April 30, 2026 | Uncategorized Alice PAC Recommends Xavier Becerra for Governor On April 27, the Alice B. Toklas LGBTQ Democratic Club Political Action Committee (PAC) voted to rescind its endorsement of Betty Yee, who is no longer running for Governor, and to put forward a new... Continue reading →
California Gubernatorial Debate Watch & Discussion at Manny’s Tuesday, May 5, 6pm Manny’s, 3092 16th Street Register Here Join us at Manny’s for a live California Gubernatorial Primary Debate watch party, followed by an expert panel discussion! We’ll be screening the debate in the living room, creating a space to... Continue reading →
One Million Rising: Strategic Non-Cooperation to Fight Authoritarianism Virtual Event · Hosted by No Kings Time Wednesdays 8 – 9:30pm EDT Location Virtual event Join from anywhere About this event Across the country, authoritarian forces are getting bolder and more dangerous. Trump and his allies are not hiding their agenda: mass deportations,... Continue reading →
THURSDAY, JUNE 29, 2023 AT 2 AM – 4 AM PDT How to create trust in a group? Details Event by Extinction Rebellion Empathy Circles online EMPATHY CAFE Duration: 2 hr Public · Anyone on or off Facebook How to create trust in a group? This is the question that arose in our... Continue reading →
Public Banking Coalition monthly meetings Next call: Nov 11 Excitement is building for public banking and once a month, PBI hosts an hour-long Public Banking Coalition online meeting to share the excitement and successes. Find out the latest updates on the advances being made all across the country from local advocates themselves... Continue reading →
When you volunteer for Saikat, it’s on us to give you a great experience and a genuine chance to make a difference. We don’t want to waste a second of your time. That’s why we’re always optimizing. And I’m excited to report that this Saturday we talked with 300% more... Continue reading →
.jpg)
