This is David Koresh.. He was the cult leader of the Branch Davidians, a fanatical religious sect. His doomsday interpretation of the ‘Book of Revelation’ attracted a number of followers. Koresh claimed to be the final prophet. He was also alleged to be involved in a number of incidents of physical and sexual abuse of children.

The ATF on February 28, 1983 raided the building that Koresh was holed up in. The raid ended up with four ATF agents and six Branch Davidians dead. During that raid, Koresh was seriously injured by gun shot. The unsuccessful raid resulted in a 51 day siege. Following the approval of US Attorney General, Janet Reno, the FBI raided the building again on April 19. The building caught fire and 79 Branch Davidians died, including 21 children under the age of 16. Koresh died from a gun shot wound to the head. Five children under 14 were shot dead. A three year old was stabbed to death.

Waco became a clarion call for the extreme right. One of the gawkers at the Waco raid site was Timothy McVie. McVie was a white supremacist. McVie and fellow supremacist Terry Nichols bombed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building on April 19, 1995, exactly two years to the date of the final Waco siege. A total of 168 died and over 680 people were injured. It was the worst terrorist act inflicted on an American city, until 9/11. McVie was later executed while Nichols received 161 consecutive life sentences.

Who was in Waco, last night, on the 30th anniversary of the Waco seige, spreading more lies. Donald Trump. Organizers will say that Waco was chosen for the speech due to its central location to major cities in Texas. Sure. Karl Rove observes,

“Mr. Trump’s strategy appears to focus exclusively on winning the votes of true believers. But many are suffering Trump fatigue and there weren’t enough of them to re-elect him last time. The most probable result of his current ranting and raving will be to convince more Republicans that he’s unelectable.”

It is a losing strategy. Trump must know this. But what drove him to do it anyway. Julian Zellzer a professor of political history, at Princeton, puts it best,

“It doesn’t seem to matter that much of the attention is negative. As president, reality television star and real estate mogul, Trump has cast himself as a fighter who has warded off individuals and institutions that he claims are out to get him. This is an essential part of his political persona: the aggrieved public figure who is at perpetual war with the world around him.”

Despite what Rove says, the Republicans are in a trap. If Trump does not win the Republican nomination, for President, he will run as an independent. It is in his narcissistic nature. The frightening part is how many people might die along the way.