In a series of tweets, Republican strategist and Lincoln Project founder Steve Schmidt pointed the finger at Donald Trump and pinned the blame on him for the violence that rocked Washington D.C. on Saturday night.

With reports of stabbings and gunfire, Schmidt linked to clips of the far-right white nationalists roaming the streets and stopping cars, calling the members of the group “Trump’s thugs.”

“Look at this closely,” he wrote above a video link. “These right-wing fascists are instigating political violence in the name of a defeated President who is inciting them. This is the Capitol of the United States. This is a glimpse of our future. This must be crushed at the ballot box.”

“This is Trump’s doing. This is the result that Fox News, Newsmax and hundreds of lying right wing propagandists have produced for America. This is Trumpism,” he added before stating, “These are Trump’s thugs and they are fascists. They are rioting against democracy. We are at an extremely dangerous place as a country. It is essential to see the threat, it is grave.”

You can see his tweets below:

is about. @KLoeffler and @sendavidperdue stand with these people. These people hate the idea of America. They have repudiated it. We can never lose a Presidential election to these people ever again. They will not relinquish power if they do. This is Trump’s doing. This is the

— Steve Schmidt (@SteveSchmidtSES) December 13, 2020

Thugs are wearing familiar brands it doesn’t mean they aren’t them, they are. These are Trump’s thugs and they are fascists. They are rioting against democracy. We are at an extremely dangerous place as a country. It is essential to see the threat, it is grave.

— Steve Schmidt (@SteveSchmidtSES) December 13, 2020

President Donald Trump fueled the far right extremist, neo-fascist, misogynistic, transphobic, Islamophobic, white nationalist, violence-promoting hate group “Proud Boys” during Tuesday night’s debate when he refused to condemn white supremacism.

Trump gave the group a direct order: “Proud Boys, stand back and stand by,” and they are thrilled – and taking him at his word.

Experts say Trump’s remarks effectively made him their leader, an “honor” the Proud Boys are only too happy to have.

Immediately the group took Trump’s words and incorporated them into their logo.

Now that logo, the logo of a dangerous hate group – including Trump’s directive – is appearing on merchandise at Amazon.

Proud Boy merch featuring the "Stand Back – Stand By" verbiage is now available on @amazon

….naturally. pic.twitter.com/2p1seB8cTG

— Konstantin Toropin (@KToropin) September 30, 2020

CONFIRMED: The original shirt is now down, but two more are still for sale: pic.twitter.com/k2jj7MpJxp

— Sleeping Giants (@slpng_giants) September 30, 2020

Amazon is selling t-shirts, tank tops and long sleeves with “Stand Back, Stand By” with the Proud Boy’s logo (free shipping to Prime members). https://t.co/H52WuPs22L h/t @slpng_giants pic.twitter.com/MfDEg3B0bd

— Adam L. Penenberg (@Penenberg) September 30, 2020

President Trump has helped normalize extremism.

His former counterterrorism chief at DHS condemned him for refusing to denounce white supremacism last night.

Senior Defense Department officials have been privately discussing resigning if President Donald Trump orders the American military to put down unrest in the wake of the 2020 election.

The New York Times reports that Pentagon officials are worried that Trump will try to use the military against American citizens who will be protesting him if he tries to stay in power even after losing the election.

“Several Pentagon officials said that such a move could prompt resignations among many of Mr. Trump’s senior generals,” including General Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Times reports.

The report notes that both Milley and Defense Secretary Mark Esper both opposed Trump this past summer when he wanted to use the military to put down protests against police brutality in Washington D.C., and would be unlikely to back him if he tried to do the same thing after losing an election.

But John Gans, who served as chief speechwriter to the defense secretary in the Obama administration, told the Times he was concerned about whether the military was really prepared to resist the president’s orders.

“The Pentagon plans for war with Canada and a zombie apocalypse, but they don’t want to plan for a contested election,” he said. “These are huge questions that have an impact on the reputation of the institution.”

Image: Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead by Gage Skidmore via Flickr