Open buckets of dehydrated cheese products, set fire to the portable stove, and switch to the light of some emergency glow sticks. It is a constitutional crisis and you will want a well-equipped bunker.
As President Donald Trump’s efforts to cancel the election become more fantastic, some of his toughest fans are urged to explore disaster preparedness for unspecified political turmoil. Earlier Monday, shortly before election polls from several states began to formalize the victory of President-elect Joe Biden, pro-Trump lawyer Lin Wood took to Twitter to imply a disaster that would acostava. He urged fans to “make sure you have A LOT of water, food, flashlights and batteries, candles, radio, [and] Second Amendment Supplies “.
That call was echoed by the crowd at Newsmax, a far-right television network that has insisted Trump can still retain the presidency, at least until another anchor said the words “President-elect Joe Biden” on Monday in the late.
Disaster preparedness is theoretically apolitical. There is nothing intrinsically in favor of having a few canned beans and AA batteries on hand. But a certain multitude of conservatives with an apocalyptic thought has for a long time had a love affair with the preparation of the final judgment. And now that Trump supporters have taken up their dying cause with the fervor of a fight against Armageddon, some are encouraging each other to reserve for uncomfortable unrest.
Wood, a pro-Trump lawyer who filed lawsuits to overturn Trump’s election loss, hinted that his advice on disaster preparedness was related to political unrest. “Remember we only have one president at a time,” he tweeted in his call for supporters to stock up. “Our leader is @realDonaldTrump, not Biden.”
While Wood did not send any requests for comment on details, he has spent the past month hinting at the pro-Trump armed revolt. On social media and in rally speeches, Wood has told supporters that they are living a new “1776,” that they should expect a “civil war,” and that Trump “should declare martial law.”
His call to supply himself with weapons, candles, and radios only underscored these promises, and other prominent voices from the margins took up the cause. “People, when @LLinWood tells people to get ready, I listen,” a Newsmax White House correspondent posted.
For once, Wood was not on the brink of pro-Trump panic. Conservative brand survival kits have been on the market for years, with brands like “My Patriot Supply” and “4Patriots” selling from dehydrated fruit to anti-radiation pills. Far-right conspiracy sites, such as InfoWars and Natural News, sell their own gears of the final trial, including a “pocket chainsaw.”
On Monday, while the Electoral College voted in favor of Biden, Natural News published several articles about “bugging out,” that is, getting off the grid when the “SHTF” (“shit hits the fan”). “Making Your Getaway: Five Factors to Consider When Developing an Emergency Bug Plan,” read one headline.
“Preparing for an electrical outage: what to store and when to dispose of it,” read another. (Elsewhere on the same homepage, Natural News imposed itself on Trump for “invoking military tribunals” for his electoral loss).
If the prepper industry sometimes feels apocalyptic, this is because many of its most important names are literal preachers of the final judgment. Some conservative ministries have even surpassed patriotic-themed surviving companies in their bids to charge for future demolitions.
Jim Bakker, a television evangelist currently accused of marketing a fake COVID-19 cure, is notorious for bouncing survival tubs the size of a bathtub for hundreds of dollars in “donations” to his church. While Bakker’s ministry moves a lot for Trump (his website hosts a large banner of “President Donald Trump’s Achievements” on his home page), his long-term fixation is the end of times. Under a tab called “Revelation,” the church has carefully recorded all the headlines of a terrible year, from the deaths from COVID-19 to the California fires. (The Bakker Ministry Center, a Missouri church complex, had its own mini-apocalypse earlier this year. Although Bakker declared it a place “to go to the fire of the world”), the complex suffered layoffs and supply shortages during the early COVID -19 pandemic.)
While they are more sober in their social media posts, some surviving brands have also leaned into electoral uncertainty. Shortly after the election, the 4Patriots brand announced the winner of an emergency food gift.
“My 4 week Patriots 4 week survival food kit arrived and I’m thrilled to have won this award !!!” said the man in a shared testimony on the brand’s Facebook. “This is happening at a time when there is so much uncertainty in this country, especially after last night’s election results. The 4-week survival food kit will be invaluable if I need it.”