Trump threatens Alec Baldwin, calls for “retribution” against NBC
By
Barry Grey
19 February 2019
President Donald Trump posted two thuggish tweets Sunday morning attacking actor Alec Baldwin’s impersonation of the press conference at which he announced an unconstitutional declaration of national emergency to circumvent Congress and appropriate funds for the military to build his border wall.
Baldwin, who has frequently mimicked Trump on NBC’s satirical “Saturday Night Live” program, mocked the president in a skit broadcast on Saturday night’s episode.
In what can only be described as an incitement to violence by his fascistic base, Trump tweeted: “Nothing funny about tired Saturday Night Live on Fake News NBC! Question is, how do the Networks get away with these total Republican hit jobs without retribution? Likewise for many other shows? Very unfair and should be looked into. This is the real Collusion!”
A few minutes later he fired off a second tweet repeating what has become a standard attack line: “THE RIGGED AND CORRUPT MEDIA IS THE ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE!”
The use of terms like “hit job” and “retribution” reflect the gangsterism that pervades the Trump White House and the American financial oligarchy it represents. There is no precedent in US presidential history for such a direct incitement of violence against a public personality.
Baldwin responded with his own tweet later on Sunday, expressing entirely warranted fears about the implications of Trump’s threat: “I wonder if a sitting President exhorting his followers that my role in a TV comedy qualifies me as an enemy of the people constitutes a threat to my safety and that of my family?”
Sunday’s incident was no aberration for Trump, who repeatedly encouraged violence against…