August 9, 2022

From Dumb to Terrifying, Here Are Some Unhinged Responses to the FBI Raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago

A tunnel of amped up Trump fans, revenge threats, and conspiratorial pontification.

Trump hanging out in Palm Beach in December 2020.

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The dust had hardly settled from the FBI’s raid of Mar-a-Lago on Monday when a thunderous chorus of Republican lawmakers, rabid Trump zealots, two prominent Andrews, and pundits of all stripes weighed in on the extraordinary search at former president Donald Trump’s Palm Beach home.

So far, the appraisals have been varied. But they tend to share a common identity of extremely amped up, conspiratorial, and ready for battle. Let’s take a tour of some of their strangest responses.

“This is some third-world bullshit.”

You’re next.

Defund the…police?

Three-letter federal agencies are coming for you.

Let’s threaten a notoriously meticulous and deliberative attorney general.

Investigations are bad, says disgraced politician and focus of sexual harassment investigation.

It’s bad optics to go after potential criminals.

His supporters wanted to hang me but I’m just as mealymouthed as ever.

This is war.

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

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