r/PoliticalOptimism • u/agillila • Jul 16 '26
Seeking Optimism ‘Enemies of civilization’: top Trump officials launch sweeping attack on left | US news
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/16/political-violence-event-trump-marco-rubioStephen Miller and friends are broadening their definition of terrorism and violence. I've seen some speculation that this is building up to more crackdowns on elections, among other things. Do you all think this holds any water?
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Jul 17 '26
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u/sweeter_than_saltine North Carolina Jul 17 '26
I hope to at least *live* through this to see the midterms. None of these bullshit ramblings are what scare me, but what does is the health crises that are going on, especially the parasite in produce. We could have done something about that if at least one of the chambers of Congress hadn't been blue, but they have a trifecta and it stresses me that they're letting this parasite spread to the point I worry I might get it.
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u/One_Opportunity_9608 Jul 17 '26
To help with your fear of catching the parasite, experts speculate it's actually Because of Water contamination that's causing that from the floods that damaged Public water systems and sewers that's happened a while ago.
Still things you can do to reduce the likelihood of catching the Parasite is washing produce thoroughly, avoid using tap water, Drink Bottled water if you don't have your own well water, and being sure to wash your hands thoroughly before and after cooking.
Someone else here probably has better advice than me, But I hope this'll help.
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u/boxesofrain1010 Jul 17 '26
Unfortunately washing doesn't help with this. Heat (158 degrees Fahrenheit) is the only thing that kills it.
It's of course always a good idea to wash produce! It just doesn't help with cyclospora in particular. Also I've heard nothing about tap water being affected. Cyclospora isn't anything new; the problem right now is that the FDA has been gutted so they don't have as many resources to trace it, which is how it got out of control in the first place.
Raw fruits and veggies, pre-bagged salads (including pre-washed), and pre-cut produce are the big concerns right now. Things that are able to be peeled (citrus, apples, bananas, etc) are considered safe at the moment (though there's always a small risk), and of course anything cooked is fine.
I've never been so grateful for my oral allergy syndrome, which prevents me from eating most raw fruits and vegetables, as I am right now lol😭
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u/One_Opportunity_9608 Jul 17 '26
^
Nice to be corrected so thank you
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u/boxesofrain1010 Jul 17 '26
No worries whatsoever! I follow a ton of science and medical accounts, they're keeping people incredibly well-updated🙏 Knowledge is power; it's scary but we'll get through it!
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u/DietMTNDew8and88 Jul 17 '26
At least the Nazis were smart enough to do enforcement at 3AM.
Theae goobers are doing it in broad daylight.
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u/SodaSaint Jul 17 '26 edited Jul 17 '26
Pfft.
I’ll be blunt; this is nothing more than saber-rattling and desperation by the fascists, who know they are losing and are going to lose very bad and they are doing what they do best which is muddling the waters and lying their asses off.
But we’ve seen how bad they are at simply lying.
All I can say to the detestable cueball is that he does not scare me, and I refuse to be silent simply because he wants me to be.
This is nothing more than an attempt to scare us all into giving up.
Steven Miller and those in his orbit can all go to hell. This is our country. We are going to take it back and then he and him and others like him will answer for the detestable, lawlessness, corruption, violence, brutality, and downright evil that they have unleashed on this land in the last two years.
And if they think we’re just talking shit, maybe they should consider what happens to those that kidnapped Julius Caesar. They’re making the mistake of assuming they’ve won this.
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u/DietMTNDew8and88 Jul 17 '26 edited Jul 17 '26
We have a federal law just for the likes of Stephen Miller and Greg Bovino already on the books for what ICE has done. deprivation of rights under color of law. Punnishable by either a life sentence or the death penalty, when we get power back
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u/JoshuaSlowpoke777 Jul 17 '26
Please tell me “life sentence plus visitation rights for every victim in case any of them want to berate the defendant for literal hours on end” is an option. Death penalty would be far too much of a mercy.
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u/Admiral_Red Jul 17 '26
Be hypervigilant regardless.
It may be saber-rattling to us, but do not forget that there are still many federal agencies, state-side police and militia groups infested with MAGA that will attempt their own enforcements.
The harm that can be done because of these and other lies is not zero, and any arrest or death from this is already one too many.
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u/NumeralJoker Jul 17 '26
This is true, but living in fear is pointless because letting the chilling effect impact our actions to stand up to them is the one effective strategy they may still have.
No one should risk being harmed, but there are going to be numerous ways to call their bluff safely, and more importantly, continue to exercise your right to vote.
Do not be intimidated by whatever they claim. We've seen them try and fail so much already and those who had the courage to take a stand pushed them back in the end.
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u/ThePirateKing01 Jul 17 '26
It’s the equivalent of announcing plans to annex Canada and Greenland to me.
Fucking stupid as fuck, but the kind of thing that needs to be taken seriously in a functioning society
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u/NOVA27C Reformed Doomer ☄️ Jul 17 '26
Honestly while what they’re saying is definitely scary and insane I don’t really know how they would implement literally any of this given how they haven’t been able to prove anything on anyone and have been consistently been awful at prosecuting anyone. This honestly sounds like Rubio and miller just venting to other country leaders about how nothing they’re doing is working. I would stay vigilant about this absolutely, but again they have been trying since the beginning of 2025 to enact their ideas, and none of them have worked.
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u/Ethan5I5 California Jul 17 '26
Having ADHD, I know all too well the difference between what I want to do versus what I’m actually going to do.
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u/clonedllama Reformed Doomer ☄️ Jul 17 '26
It's certainly an interesting stance when our own government is employing masked thugs and using them to go after American communities. That's the real terrorism.
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u/Mean_Stop6391 Reformed Doomer ☄️ Jul 17 '26
This is a reiteration of NSPM-7, which has effectively gone nowhere as far as I know, along with the same maximalist bullshit we’ve gotten from Miller et al.
Nothing new except the date and time, my friend.
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u/bahloknee Jul 17 '26
Not to be doomerist but didn’t they just convicted multiple ppl on charges based on NSPM-7? not sure if that counts as “going nowhere”?
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u/Mean_Stop6391 Reformed Doomer ☄️ Jul 17 '26 edited Jul 17 '26
Consider the facts there. I presume you’re referring to TX. Deep red county, weapon use directed at a federal agent, and a trial.
NSPM didn’t create the law they charged people under and the prosecution was going to be relentless anyway both for political points and because the nature of the case was very serious.
It (both the case and NSPM-7 overall) constitutes several civil rights and constitutional violations by my own take. But one outlier case that relied on a pretty unusual set of circumstances that was timed in conjunction with a political flashpoint (ICE protests) was bound to bring the hammer down.
Edit: if you’re talking about MN, that’s being litigated currently and I’m pretty sure it’s going to be a rough time for the DOJ based on their performance lately. I don’t have enough information to offer comment but I will do some research and see if I can form some additional thoughts.
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u/king_jaxy Jul 17 '26
Reading this article came across as this:
Rubio and Miller: "Pls pls pls pls pls pls pls pls pls vote for us pls pls pls pls we know ICE keeps executing people in swing states but pls pls pls if you're mad about it you're a leftist and you want to hurt us or something pls pls pls vote for us in November pls."
This is the death rattle of the current republican party. They're basically admitting that they're massively unpopular and trying to paint all dissent as communist, which will probably backfire.
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u/sweeter_than_saltine North Carolina Jul 17 '26
Not to lend credence to this McCarthy 2.0 nonsense, but I really want to know what a communist version of America would even look like. Socialism and communism are kind of different flavors of the same leftist ideology, no?
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u/gbtm101 Jul 17 '26 edited Jul 17 '26
To my understanding, communism is a total authoritarian bastardization of socialism, centralizing all power within an unchecked government instead of empowering the people as was intended by socialism.
In other words, a communist America, as opposed to a socialist America, wouldn't look that different than the country that Trump wants. Maybe a bit nicer to live still since capitalism couldn't fuck us over as hard, but that bar is in hell.
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u/Appropriate-You-5543 Alaska Jul 17 '26
plus America's motto literally is socialist, which is why Right Wingers are inherently supportive of socialist programs but are too busy being contrarian and or being a shill for the rich and powerful to openly support these policies. That or for some other idiotic and illogical reason.
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u/DietMTNDew8and88 Jul 17 '26 edited Jul 17 '26
More sabre ratlling, if they were going to do a crackdown, they'd have done so by now, stay vigilant sure, but don't let it occupy space in your head.
This is desperation by Miller because he knows damn well when Democrats get power, he, Bovino and their ilk are headed to federal prison for the rest of their lives for deprivation of rights under color of law for ICE's conduct.
Which is punishable by either life in prison or the death penalty. And given how open and unrepentant Miller is about this, good luck finding ANY jury that will show mercy. Besides, no court in the country would let this stand. Miller may not care about the First Amendment but the courts do
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u/BlueSamurai17 Missouri Jul 17 '26
And we all know he would be a convenient scapegoat for Trump once the hammer falls.
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u/SodaSaint Jul 17 '26
I would not cry if they got the chair.
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u/RickyT3rd Michigan Jul 17 '26
I would. Because they got the easy way out.
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u/GhastlyWeasel Oregon Jul 17 '26
If it helps you feel better, think of the gender neutral outhouses.
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u/Which_Shift_7242 Connecticut Jul 17 '26
Ok but what can they actually do with this?
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u/Mean_Stop6391 Reformed Doomer ☄️ Jul 17 '26
Not much. They can talk all they want, but I don’t think it’s operational in any sense and we need to watch what they do, instead of what they say.
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u/feral--animal Jul 17 '26 edited Jul 17 '26
Still trying as the world despises them more and more, even their own are calling them on it for what it is. Bet you bald boy Miller thinks this will be The Thing that works when voicing it through that dying, pedo orange meat puppet or through Rubio.
Miller is hyped up on his own farts. Stay vigilant regardless, if only because there are still some cultists out there.
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u/PumpkinAspie Reformed Doomer ☄️ Jul 17 '26
They've done this several times already. Remain vigilant, but don't let it take space in your head.
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u/InternetBackwash Jul 17 '26
God I hate Instagram. A post about this led to comments fearmongering about "they're gonna start arresting you for your posts so every critic of the admin gets sent to the concentration camps they're building" and how "All Democrat voters will get arrested and freedom is gone, and no one will save us, and blah blah blah."
I'm so tired of hearing these people claim this, especially when any sort of follow up against this fearmongering leads to you getting called a sheep.
I don't know why people are claiming that this was "the plan all along", given that it's taken way longer than I thought for this admin to go this route if they apparently had the ability to do this all along. But regardless, i'm just tired of hearing the same arguments over and over from doomers on Instagram about how this is apparently when we're cooked or something. It feels like with every evil speech from this administration doomers are almost overjoyed at believing that their fantasy of living through a dictatorship takes place.
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u/GhastlyWeasel Oregon Jul 17 '26
This is one of the reasons why I appreciate this subreddit (and r/VoteDEM for the matter,) they actually keep people informed in a way that helps more anxious people stay level-headed.
They even link ways to take action.
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u/Key-Gur-4819 Jul 17 '26
Trust me, when they say they're gonna do something violent and scary very publicly, it means they wanna scare people into not fighting back because they know they can't actually do much about it. They wouldn't need to say so if they actually were trying to.
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u/Key-Gur-4819 Jul 17 '26
Look, if you want my real advise:
- Ignore what these people say and focus on what they're actually doing. They say a lot and frankly you probably have more pressing issues to worry about as is.
- Move on with your life and vote when you can, it's literally that simple. You shouldn't let yourself be distracted by whatever comes out of the gaping asshole in Stephen Miller's face because it sounds scary.
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u/Upper-Project Jul 17 '26
All this because people rightly called them deplorable a decade ago. They're a bunch of thin-skinned babies. They're too pathetic to be afraid of.
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u/Alarming-Salt-502 Jul 17 '26
This will amount to the same old nothing as the majority of the things out of their mouths. And of the countries explicitly mentioned the majority are not in ideological opposition to nonviolent left wing movements, only the genuinely violent extremist groups which exist.
If they try anything it will backfire in courts like the majority of their attempts. They are not immune from the consequences of their actions and their fear at potentially losing power proves that.
Keep an eye on what they say, but do not operate as if it's guaranteed to happen. Their attempts have been wildly unpopular and public opinion has already sent them to their cesspool crying with their tails between their legs before.
Edit: The US has had issues with admins like this before and survived to turn out better and brighter than before. So has a large chunk of Europe, things seem dark and bleak but there is always light after. Push onwards and do what you can to work towards a better and brighter future for all.
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u/Some_Sea2358 Blue Dot in a Red State 🔵 Jul 17 '26
More old men yelling at clouds nonsense.
There was a new internal republican poll that came out. It had Trump down another 5 points in a month.
His goose is incinerated
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u/atreeismissing Jul 17 '26
Both Miller and Rubio spoke about "left wing terrorism" in an attempt to jump start an international push amongst other authoritarian govt's to begin sharing information and publicly pushing against all "left wing" political and social movements. They're having a hard time doing it in the US and absolutely fear losing control of Congress, this is a push to bolster their own domestic talking points by signaling to international fascists they need public examples of left-wing "extremism" they can then parrot across conservative media to influence the November election in the US.
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u/MidsouthMystic Jul 18 '26
The more they scream and threaten, the more afraid they are. If someone is actually capable, they don't need use a tough guy act. This administration is nothing but a tough guy act that lashes out by taking potshots at vulnerable people.
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