Donald Trump is setting the stage for another violent response to his possible election loss, MSNBC's Joe Scarborough and Jonathan Lemire argued Monday morning.
The former president again pledged over the weekend to pardon Jan. 6 rioters as one of his first acts in office if re-elected to a second term, prompting the "Morning Joe" host to express alarm that Trump may be already encouraging supporters to react to a potential loss with more violence.
"When Donald Trump calls these people patriots, and more damningly says he is going to pardon people who beat the hell out of police officers, and you have audiences cheering in America, what does that tell you?" Scarborough said.
Lemire argued the Republican nominee was "laying the groundwork" for another insurrection.
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"We mentioned earlier how in 2016, it began that summer, Trump laid the groundwork to question the integrity of the election, an election he ended up winning," Lemire said. "He did so again in 2020. He's doing it now about the election, but he is laying the groundwork for potentially more violence. That message over the weekend is not just about pardoning those on Jan. 6, he is suggesting to those who might commit acts of violence for him in the future he'd offer pardons for them, as well, were he to be elected."
Scarborough contended the ex-president, lacking confidence that he'll defeat Kamala Harris, leaned into election fraud lies instead of making a case to voters in the closing months of the presidential campaign.
"He's bringing this up, because he is focusing on Jan. 6, because he is focusing on political violence, because he is focusing on spreading the 'big lie,' because he is focusing on violence," he said. "We didn't even show the clip where he talked about in his mass deportations, how they were going to be, quote, bloody."
"He is choosing to speak on violence, on riots, on the undermining of American democracy," Scarborough added. "He is making that choice. He is leaning into that in his stretch in the campaign – why?"
Lemire argued those dark themes betrayed Trump's fear that he will lose the election twice in a row as he awaits sentencing for his New York felony convictions.
"That's his closing argument right now because there are fears he could lose because this race is so close," Lemire said. "Certainly, it's not a given that he is going to lose, but we know, I've talked to people around him, he's afraid he might. He knows his freedom is on the line. His New York sentencing won't happen until after the election either. At this point, the delay tactics, as successful as they've been so far, well, were he to lose in November, it doesn't matter again. All those cases spring back to life, and he won't have the power of the presidency to make them go away."
"There is real panic there," Lemire added. "He is trying to re-litigate 2020, suggesting he still didn't lose and defend those who rioted on his behalf, but he is setting up a permission structure for it to happen again."
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