Donald Trump is still going out to hold big rallies because of his constant need to be adored by friendly audiences, and he was here in Grand Rapids the other day. During the event, he basically admitted that his promise to jail Hillary Clinton was just for show.





President-elect Donald Trump on Friday acknowledged his threat to imprison Hillary Clinton for using a private email server during her time as secretary of state was simply an appeal to win voters. As Trump spoke at a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, as part of his post-election “Thank You Tour,” some supporters began chanting “lock her up” ― a common refrain during the Republican convention and Trump’s campaign events. “No, it’s okay,” Trump said as the crowd jeered a reference to Clinton. “Forget it. That plays great before the election. Now, we don’t care, right?”

This was obvious to me from the start. He had no intention of trying to put her in jail and he never had the authority to do it in the first place. He was throwing red meat to the rubes, firing up the mob in front of them to make them even more rabid than they already were. In other words, classic demagoguery. And it worked, because the people in his audiences didn’t give a damn about thoughtfulness or intelligence. The only thing they cared about was releasing the primal scream that had built up from their fear of white people losing some of their control over society. If ever there was a barbaric yawp, that was it. And Trump, being the carnival barker that he is, exploited it perfectly.