On Sunday, constitutional attorney George Conway issued a dire warning about the future of America’s political climate, suggesting that the country is headed toward political violence. His concern came after a recent post from Donald Trump that many felt pushed the boundaries of law and order.
On Saturday, Trump shared a statement on his social media that left many stunned: “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law.” The former president’s words set off a firestorm, with people questioning whether they signaled a deeper constitutional crisis on the horizon.
Conway’s warning was sparked not just by Trump’s statement but also by Elon Musk’s decision to amplify it. The tech billionaire shared Trump’s post with his 217 million followers on X (formerly Twitter). This act of amplification reached millions of people, fueling even more intense reactions online.
Conway didn’t hold back in voicing his concerns, posting on Bluesky: “I’m having great difficulty right now seeing how our political system doesn’t devolve into violence.”
For him, this felt like the beginning of something much darker. And he wasn’t alone in his fears. Many on social media echoed similar thoughts, with some suggesting that violence might be the only way to fight back against what they saw as a collapsing system.
“I think it’s coming. It probably will be the only way to fight back, literally,” one user responded. Another added, “Why else shutter a Government unless the plan is to purposely cause civil unrest. Shut it down. Unleash civil war. Wait till it’s over then reboot Government. These people WANT DEATH of Americans.”
Others took aim at the idea that Trump’s supporters would be the only ones involved.
“They seem to forget that not everyone with firearms is a magat,” one person replied, emphasizing that not all armed Americans are on Trump’s side.
All over social media, the alarm bells were ringing. One user wrote, “The violence has started. What they are doing to civil servants and to the most vulnerable Americans is violence. They will not march down the boulevards, they will put DOJ staff in a room and threaten them. This is war. This is violence.”
Conway wasn’t alone in his concern. Critics, both on the left and the right, quickly pointed out the authoritarian undertones in Trump’s words.
Even voices from the right, like Bill Kristol, sounded the alarm. Kristol, who has been critical of Trump, warned that the former president’s statement was edging dangerously close to authoritarianism, referencing the Nazi concept of the Führerprinzip, which ties the power of the state directly to one leader.
MSNBC’s Chris Hayes compared Trump’s statement to the infamous saying of French King Louis XIV: “L’etat c’est moi,” meaning “I am the state.”
Jamelle Bouie, a columnist for The New York Times, called Trump’s words “the single most un-American and anti-constitutional statement ever uttered by an American president.”
While some may dismiss the outcry as just another round of political noise, figures like George Conway are making it clear that the stakes have never been higher. The combination of Trump’s rhetoric and Musk’s amplification has left many worried about what comes next—and whether it might lead the country into an even darker chapter of political violence.
