It should be evident that there are totalitarian links among Trump, mobs, and the elite in our society. This attraction to totalitarian leaders by the elite is a clue to totalitarian movements as crucial as the connection to the mob ( Hannah Arendt).¹ On January 3, 2023, Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to four charges related to the January 6 Capitol attack.

It should be noted that six elites were described as co-conspirators in the case, United States v. Donald J. Trump, defendant. Each co-conspirator (although not named) in the case are lawyers. This indictment describes how Trump perpetuated three criminal conspiracies to try and hold on to power. From page 2 of the charge, we have these conspiracies;

• He conspired to defraud the United States by using dishonesty, fraud, and deceit to impair and defeat the lawful federal government function of certifying the electoral vote count.
• Trump obstructed and impeded the January 6 congressional proceedings to count and certify the electoral vote.
• And he conspired against the right to vote and have one’s vote counted.

Since 2015, Trump and his elites have managed mobs of people who attended his rallies, listened to right-wing talk shows, and followed him by tuning into Fox Network and listening to Hannity, Ingram, and others.

According to Arendt ², would-be and future dictators of totalitarian movements are elders who speak to the chronologically younger mass of people. This ensures that the groups, outsiders to the political class and elites, will realize their victory when their leader takes power. Like previous and contemporary autocrats, Trump took advantage of the discontent in people who lived in red states and would attend his rallies.³

In the Trump Files, I wrote that Trump took advantage of the discontent in people who lived in red states and would attend his rallies. During the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump held 323 rallies, 186 during the primary and 137 during the general election. Most protests were held in red states, drawing more than 1.4 million people (about half the population of Nevada). All the attendees were white, except for a few protestors and Black security guards or vendors. After Joe Biden became president, Trump continued with his rallies. From June 2021 to November 22, he held 30 rallies. During the current presidential campaign, he has held six rallies. You can follow this link to a list of his rallies. You can identify the elites that attend and speak at these rallies.

Notes

1. Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism, London: Penguin Books, 1951, 1967. p. 427.
2. Arendt, p. 428.
3. Hassard, Jack. The Trump Files: An Account of the Trump Administration’s Effect on American Democracy, Human Rights, Science and Public Health (p. 67-70). Northington-Hearn Publishing LLC. Kindle Edition.