Trump’s Terror Tactic: The Real Math Behind the Antifa Label

Why Trump’s Antifa Label Has Nothing to Do With Safety...and Everything to Do With Power

Trump’s Terror Tactic: The Real Math Behind the Antifa Label

Why Trump’s Antifa Label Has Nothing to Do With Safety…and Everything to Do With Power

The Jack Hopkins Now Newsletter #567: Tuesday, September 23rd, 2025.

The Opening Gut Punch

In one stroke of the pen…Donald Trump managed to turn a loose collection of street protesters into the legal equivalent of Al Qaeda.

He didn’t build a case. He didn’t push legislation. He just slapped the word “terrorist” on them and dared America to say otherwise.

And millions cheered. Not because they understand the law. Not because they studied the risks. But because in today’s political marketplace…fear sells faster than facts.

This is the calculus behind Trump’s Antifa designation…and if you don’t understand it…you’ll miss the bigger play that’s coming straight at you.

2. Why This Move? Why Now?

To understand Trump…you have to think like a direct marketer.

He doesn’t make decisions based on governance. He makes decisions based on what sells in the moment.

• Charlie Kirk assassinated? Distract and redirect.

• Epstein files bubbling up? Flood the zone with a new boogeyman.

• ICE raids drawing fire? Give the base something red-meat enough to make them forget.

Antifa is perfect. It’s amorphous. It has no central leader…no office…no legal team ready to sue. It’s a brand…one Trump can crush in order to look powerful.

3. The Fear Leverage

Kennedy would call this a “money-math equation.” What’s the cost of action? What’s the payoff?

Cost:

Zero political risk. Liberals hate Trump anyway. Conservatives love the show. The media gives him free airtime.

Payoff:

Maximum fear leverage. Slap the “terrorist” label and every protester looks radioactive.

Trump isn’t targeting black-clad street fighters in Portland. He’s targeting the American imagination. He knows the word “terrorist” rewires the brain. It takes dissent and makes it untouchable.

4. The Legal Sleight of Hand

Here’s the kicker: there’s no statutory category for “domestic terror organizations” the way there is for foreign ones. It’s smoke and mirrors.

• No new law was passed.

• No court blessed it.

• No statute enforces it.

It’s a branding exercise…not a legal one.

But branding is Trump’s weapon. He knows if you brand something hard enough, reality bends to meet the marketing. “Crooked Hillary.” “Sleepy Joe.” And now…“Antifa = terrorists.”

5. The Marketing Playbook

Bencivenga taught that great marketing creates urgency where none existed.

That’s what Trump has done here.

Manufacture the villain.

Pick a group with no unified defense.

Name it with poison.

“Terrorist” isn’t a description. It’s a verdict.

Amplify through controlled channels.

Fox News. Podcasts. Social media loops.

Monetize the fear.

Rally the base. Raise money. Distract from scandals.

This isn’t law enforcement. It’s direct-response politics: create fear…present yourself as the only solution…and cash in.

6. The Hidden Costs

But here’s what your neighbor cheering in the bleachers doesn’t see:

Collateral damage:

Ordinary protesters…journalists…or even loudmouth college kids get swept up in the same net.

Normalized authoritarianism:

Once dissent is equated with terrorism…every future protest becomes a risk.

Precedent setting:

Today it’s Antifa. Tomorrow it could be environmental groups…union picketers…or anyone who ticks off the regime.

We’ve been here before. McCarthyism branded dissent as communism. COINTELPRO infiltrated civil rights groups under the guise of security.

Every era has its branding gimmick for silencing opposition.

Trump just updated it for the 24-hour news cycle.

7. The Political Math

Let’s spell out the calculus in raw Kennedy terms:

Objective:

Shift the national conversation.

Mechanism:

Apply the most radioactive label possible.

ROI:

Fear rallies the base…mutes the opposition…and erases headlines about scandals.

It’s not about Antifa. It’s about the math of distraction.

8. The Call to Action

Here’s where the reader comes in.

If you think this ends with a few kids in hoodies, you’re dead wrong. This is the dry run for labeling dissent itself as terrorism.

So what do you do?

• Stay loud. Don’t self-censor because Trump slapped a label on dissent.

• Push back. Call reps…flood local news with letters…amplify counter-narratives.

• Join communities. You can’t fight branding with silence…you fight it with better… louder…truer branding.

9. Closing the Circle

Trump’s Antifa designation isn’t about safety. It’s not about law. It’s not even about Antifa.

It’s about power. It’s about distraction. And it’s about teaching America to fear dissent so he can operate unchecked.

The question isn’t whether Antifa deserves the label. The question is: who’s next once you accept that dissent = terror?

I’ll be back…with even more.

Best,

-Jack

P.S. Don’t make the mistake of thinking this was a one-off stunt. It was a test balloon.