Commentary | “87,000 IRS agents”: New conspiracy theory proves Trump’s encouragement of violence is GOP standard – By Amanda Marcotte (Salon) / Aug 15, 2022
The latest GOP lie isn’t just a distraction — it’s feeding the violent fantasies of the insurrectionist right
While Donald Trump spins out ever more brazen lies and nonsense to sow confusion over the seizure of stolen classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, Republicans have seized on a particularly gross conspiracy theory to justify their ridiculous claim that all of this somehow impacts the personal freedoms of every day Trump voters: “87,000 new IRS agents.”
A reference to new federal funding in the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act, this latest talking point appears to have been crafted originally as some anti-tax propaganda to get the base to defend the ability of the wealthy to cheat on their taxes. But it almost immediately morphed into something far more threatening. It is now an unhinged conspiracy theory that’s spreading rapidly through social media, as armed right-wing nuts are riling each other up to commit more acts of political violence.
The entire situation shows that Trump’s tactic of winking at right-wing extremists, in hopes they will commit violence on his behalf, has spread throughout the Republican Party. With this new lie about the IRS, both Republican leaders and Fox News have made it clear that they will not hesitate to stir up the most violent elements in their base, inflaming serious tensions for no other reason than the belief it helps them score political points during a midterm election.
