foment

U.S. government officials have said that Russia and Iran may themselves seek to foment violence, setting Americans against one another.

These include the idea that Europe wants to make Georgian men gay, or that an army of “foreign agents” from the country's vibrant civil society and free media are part of a Western “Global War Party” conspiracy to foment revolution.

All this anti-foreigner, anti-immigrant foment by Trump and Vance, the doubling down on hate speech and outright lies, reminds me of Hitler’s election campaign rhetoric leading up to the November 6, 1932, Reichstag elections, inflammatory rhetoric that had already resulted in a foreign worker being bludgeoned to death by a group of rightwing vigilantes in the village of Potempa that August.

Trump’s belief that he can foment hatred and infect half the country with it— without falling victim himself—reflects a lack of emotional intelligence.

At the very least those local boards can create chaos by refusing to certify the election canvas due to what they will say is suspected fraud and foment more right-wing conspiracy theories.