He repeated false claims that the 2020 election was "rigged." He continued to cast doubt on the results, including in Arizona which just concluded a review of the state's largest county's votes and found no evidence of a stolen election.
And in front of thousands of whipped-up supporters, he endorsed both U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley and Iowa's first-in-the-nation caucuses, which has for decades launched the presidential nominating contests for both major political parties.
"You proved why Iowa should continue to vote first in the nation, that’s right. First in the nation," Trump said, referencing his 8-point margin of victory in Iowa in 2020.
Civil War" was a top trending topic on Twitter on Sunday after remarks from an attendee of former President Donald Trump's rally in Iowa were widely circulated online and by the media.
Trump held a rally at the Iowa State Fairground in Des Moines on Saturday. At the event, Trump supporter Lori Levi told MSNBC that she believes the U.S. is headed for a "civil war." Levi criticized Democrats and Republicans, saying most members of the GOP are "as weak as they possibly could be in Congress."
"They're establishment. They don't care about the American people because they're in their elite little tower," she said. "So we're just sick of it, you know, and we're not going to take it anymore. I see a civil war coming. I do. I see civil war coming."
As of Sunday afternoon, the term "Civil War" had been tweeted nearly 67,000 times as it trended on the major social media platform. Many were criticizing Trump supporters and the right-wing "Make America Great Again" (MAGA) movement. Some also tried to offer solutions to the current divide within American society.
"Polarization is worse than ever and getting worse not better. There is a Civil War coming if we don't stop dehumanizing those we disagree with politically," unsuccessful Democratic presidential and New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Yang tweeted. The political activist promoted his new Forward Party PAC, which aims to promote democratic reforms.
Polarization is worse than ever and getting worse not better. There is a Civil War coming if we don’t stop dehumanizing those we disagree with politically. @Fwd_Party
— Andrew Yang
(@AndrewYang) October 10, 2021
"Political stress is at record highs, we're already seeing political violence, 42% of people now see political opponents as "mortal enemies" or "evil." We can all feel it. Where will it end? I wish it were hyperbole but we should take this very seriously," Yang added in a follow-up Twitter post.
Dean Obeidallah, host of The Dean Obeidallah Show, suggested that largely Democratic states would be happy for largely Republican states to secede from the country—unlike what happened back in the 1860s during the Civil War.
"Civil War Coming" is trending. It's not for various reasons but a big one is the Civil War in 1861 happened when Red States said we are leaving and Blue States waged a war to preserve the Union. Today if Red States wanted to leave Blue states would say "Check out time is 1PM"
— (((DeanObeidallah))) (@DeanObeidallah) October 10, 2021
"'Civil War Coming' is trending. It's not for various reasons but a big one is the Civil War in 1861 happened when Red States said we are leaving and Blue States waged a war to preserve the Union. Today if Red States wanted to leave Blue states would say 'Check out time is 1PM,'" he tweeted.
Nick Knudsen, the executive director of DemCastUSA, warned that America's shouldn't dismiss the threat of violence.
To everybody making light of the MAGA folks talking about Civil War: just remember that they’re heavily armed, brainwashed and consistently encouraged by the GOP to engage in vigilantism/insurrection.
Not a good combo. We should fear for the folks they’ll target with violence.
— Nick Knudsen
(@NickKnudsenUS) October 10, 2021
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