Donald Trump took to social media on last week to stir up his mob.
"The far & away leading Republican candidate & former president of the United States of America, will be arrested on Tuesday of next week,” he said on truth social, his bespoke website, fashioning his post like a ransom note. "protest, take our nation back.”
A Trump spokesman had to clear up things soon afterward. He said that Trump had no idea about the timing of an arrest, much less on a Tuesday. But Trump’s post served its purpose. A number of Republicans, including Kevin McCarthy, Mike Pence, Elise Stefanik and Marjorie Taylor Greene rushed to his defense. Trump, they said, is a victim.