http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/10/trump-at-war/504068/Trump Goes to WarAs the campaign descends into chaos, the Republican nominee lashes out in all directions, consequences be damned.
MOLLY BALL 4:50 AM ET POLITICS
OCALA, Florida—In Donald Trump's war of all against all, none shall be spared.
"I'm so angry at the Republicans," he says, eyes slitted in a mocking grimace. He's riffing off the leaked email that shows that allies of Hillary Clinton gave her a question in advance of a town hall broadcast by CNN in March. "I want to be fed information like Hillary gets," he complains, jabbing with his right forefinger. "The Republicans are not doing their job!"
The people are not sure how to react to this: Some laugh, others cheer, others boo. There are thousands of people here, sitting on bleachers and standing on the floor of a dirt-floored livestock arena, clad in a vast array of creative T-shirts. ("Deplorable Lives Matter," "She Wants the D," "Bomb the Shit out of ISIS," "We're Going to Need a Bigger Basket," "9/11 Was an Inside Job.")
"The leaders," Trump complains, are "not putting their weight behind the people." He had, in his view, won the last presidential debate, and yet the House speaker, Paul Ryan, had not called to congratulate him. "Wouldn't you think maybe Paul Ryan would call and say, 'Good going'?" Trump asks. "You'd think they would say, 'Good going, Don! Let's beat this crook! She's a crook! Let's beat her, we've got to stop it!’ No, he doesn't do that."
Boooo. The air is warm, the humidity so thick it feels soft, like a damp fleece blanket. Far from here, out in reality, the whole flimsy Trump edifice is crashing down. His predatory boasts have come to light; the women he has preyed upon, realizing they are not alone, are coming out of the woodwork. The other Republicans on the ballot, trapped like doomed deer in oncoming headlights, are frozen between fleeing in terror or continuing to insist that Clinton is even worse, that bad people can do good things, that Trump remains a gamble worth taking.
The Republicans appeased Trump, thinking that placating him would stave off chaos. But the chaos came anyway, and now it has taken over.
"I always figure things out, folks," Trump says. "There's a whole sinister deal going on."
As the campaign enters its gruesome, death-rattle phase—yes, there are three and a half more weeks of this to endure—Trump is refusing to go down without a fight. He intends to drag them all with him if he can, down into the swirling chaos. Scary clowns have been popping up all over the country, and somehow this does not seem like a coincidence.................................
