title:  Noam Chomsky Warns Of ‘Staged Terrorist Attack’ If Enough People Turn On Trump
text: Noam Chomsky has warned us of how dangerous Donald Trump is since the beginning of his campaign. His prediction that Trump would endanger the entire planet by ignoring climate change was confirmed this week when he signed an executive order rolling back President Obama s environmental protections. Now, Chomsky has another warning and it is downright terrifying.Speaking to Alternet, Chomsky said that it is just a matter of time before all of Trump s supporters realize what fraud they actually voted for. I think that sooner or later the white working-class constituency will recognize, and in fact, much of the rural population will come to recognize, that the promises are built on sand. There is nothing there,  the noted scholar said.Chomsky then explained that if Trump s approval ratings falls low enough, we could end up seeing a  staged terrorist attack. I think that we shouldn t put aside the possibility that there would be some kind of staged or alleged terrorist act, which can change the country instantly. A few days later, in an interview with Truthout, Chomsky expanded on what he meant. He explained that Trump could reach a point of sheer desperation to boost his public approval ratings. A terrorist attack would be one way he could try to do that.Chomsky again said that Trump s supporters are waking up and realizing that he lied to them about absolutely everything. Sooner or later, his supporters will turn their backs on him. If that happens, we can expect that the Trump-Bannon crowd will seek to divert attention in one of the many familiar ways   perhaps conjuring up some threat to American security (or if there is one, exploiting it). Or, perhaps, scapegoating the most vulnerable: immigrants, Muslims, welfare recipients (one of Reagan s disgusting techniques), and other available targets,  Chomsky explained.  That could turn very ugly. It could lead to the  friendly fascism  that sociologist Bertram Gross predicted 30 years ago. Or worse. If Chomsky s prediction is correct and Trump ever did try to stage or exploit an attack, it certainly wouldn t be the first time in history this scenario had played out. A perfect example of this is the Vietnam War.In 1964, the USS Maddox was allegedly attacked in the Gulf of Tonkin by the North Vietnamese. This is the incident responsible for officially kicking off the Vietnam War. However, documents released in 2005 and 2006 show that this supposed attack never even happened.Featured image via Justin Sullivan/Getty Images