When they can't beat them, threaten them

The GOP playbook has not changed, as pundit urges Taylor Swift to reconsider Harris endorsement — with a violent warning.

Far-right influencer and talk show host Dave Rubin delivered a violent warning for billionaire pop megastar Taylor Swift after she endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential campaign in the minutes following the ABC debate between Harris and former President Donald Trump.

Rubin appeared to suggest that the 34-year-old Swift would be at risk of being sexually brutalized by Venezuelan gang members if Harris became president and had her way on policy.

"Let's talk a little bit about how this fits into the pop culture part of this, because the pop culture is a huge driver of the cultural narrative," said Rubin. "Poor Taylor Swift endorses Kamala Harris on Instagram after the debate on ABC, proudly calls herself 'a childless cat lady.' Elon Musk, who they hate, saw that and he wrote this: 'Fine Taylor ... you win ... I will give you a child and guard your cats with my life.' So he's mocking and exposing the ridiculousness, right?"

"It's like Taylor Swift, you are a young, pretty girl," said Rubin. "Do you know what the gang members from Venezuela do to young, pretty girls? It ain't pretty. So what do we have to do? We just have to keep finding each other to whatever extent we can, we have to keep waking people up, it is the only chance we have in these remaining 60 days."

Rubin is one of a handful of right-wing influencers explicitly called out in a sprawling criminal case by the Justice Department of being targeted by a pair of Russian state media employees who sought to boost divisive content as a part of destabilizing the U.S. political system. Rubin himself has not been accused of or charged with any criminal offense in the matter.

In recent weeks, Republicans have pushed a number of false claims about Venezuelan gang activity in the U.S., including a rumor that the group Tren de Aragua had taken over an apartment complex in Aurora, Colorado — which was promptly debunked by both local police and residents.

Former President Donald Trump has urged Republicans to shut down the government if the SAVE Act was not passed before the November presidential election.

Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) threatened that there would be another Jan. 6 riot if Democrats did not pass a Republican-backed bill that would make it harder to vote.

At a Wednesday news conference, Tuberville urged Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to schedule a vote on the "Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act" or "SAVE Act." The bill would require a birth certificate or passport in order to vote, even though it is already unlawful for noncitizens to participate in federal elections.

"The Democrats know better than this, but they want power so bad that they're going to try to tear down our election system," Tuberville said. "And I'm going to tell you this. My first day was January the 6th in 2021."

"And what's going to happen if we do not show the American people that the elections are going to be fair and they're going to be satisfied with the outcome, no matter whether Republicans win or Democrats win, you are going to have hell to pay in this country," he continued. "It's coming."