Donald Trump wants the violent rhetoric to end?
He should duct-tape his mouth. Shut him up and watch the political temp drop to Zero Degrees Centigrade. To be safe, he should campaign as an angry mime.
On Sunday, while the ex-president was golfing in Florida, an alleged would-be killer stalked from behind a fence. Ryan Routh, who arrived 12 hours earlier, brought an AK-47-style rifle, scope and GoPro. He was not there to film a hole-in-one.
Two assassination attempts in a few weeks would rattle most people. Not Trump, the opportunist. Minutes after Routh was arrested, Trump sent out fundraising emails. Because nothing says sombre reflection like a money grab.
He was also quick to assign blame: “Because of this Communist Left Rhetoric, the bullets are flying.”
The only bullets flying on Sunday were fired by the Secret Service. Routh never got off a shot. And neither aspiring assassin was a Marx-tattooed member of Antifa hell-bent on burning down capitalism. The first shooter, killed in the incident, was once a registered Republican. The person arrested in the second incident voted for Trump in 2016.
It’s not the Bernie Bros who are packing heat and plotting murder.
So why have Trump and his surrogates spent the last 48 hours trying to blame Kamala Harris for two lone wolves? Because in Trumpville, the street lamps are powered by gaslight and projection is the mother tongue.
If Trump ever accuses Harris of robbing Fort Knox, authorities will definitely find crates of gold bullion at Mar-a-Lago. To illustrate how he accuses others of what he does, let’s examine this charge of “violent rhetoric.”
Did Harris ever encourage her rallygoers to pummel hecklers? No, that was Trump. Did Harris ever tell cops to rough up suspects when putting them in squad cars? No, that was Trump. Did Harris ridicule Nancy Pelosi’s husband with ugly innuendo after a crazed intruder attacked and nearly killed the older man with a hammer? No, that was Trump.
This political snowflake now whining about violent rhetoric is a blizzard of violent rhetoric. Trump fantasizes about shooting looters. He dreams about impaling migrants trying to climb a border wall, assuming they survive the moat filled with snakes and alligators.
He believes the military should be unleashed on protesters, you know, so Lownsdale Square can morph into Tiananmen Square. He wants to execute his own generals and send journalists to the gulag. He wants to bring back firing squads and public hangings.
All of his twisted fantasies are steeped in violence and retribution. Have you ever heard him give a speech about fragrant roses on a dewy morning?
After the Sunday incident, JD Vance, Trump’s running mate, said the difference between liberals and conservatives is “no one has tried to kill Kamala Harris.” This can only mean Mr. Vance did not study deductive reasoning at Yale. Again, the two assassins were about as liberal as Laura Loomer is regally demure.
There is no partisan cause-and-effect here.
Still, MAGA mouthpieces are denouncing Harris for calling Trump a “threat to democracy.” Such language, they argued, is why madmen are trying to snuff out Dear Leader. Right. That’s like Jeffrey Dahmer blaming the vegans.
Two things can be true at once: 1. Yes, Trump is a threat to democracy. 2. Trying to kill him is wrong. Unless the Harris-Waltz ticket put out a $10-million bounty on any orange human head, their barnstorming oratory can’t be faulted for isolated actions in a country that has more guns than people.
You want to keep Trump safe? Ban assault weapons.
By grim contrast, every utterance from Trump and Vance is inciteful and divisive by design. MAGA should stand for Make America Generate Anger.
Look at what’s happening in Springfield, Ohio, after the Republican leaders accused Haitian immigrants of feasting upon the town pets. Springfield is in turmoil ever since Trump became the first candidate in a presidential debate to suddenly blurt out, “They’re eating the dogs!”
Rampant bombs threats are shuttering schools and evacuating hospitals.
Violence starts with irresponsible fabulists. But Trump and Vance are doubling down. Their favourite lies are racist lies. Trump will probably add more animals to his xenophobic fever dream: “They’re eating the parrots! They’re eating the goldfish! They’re eating the hamsters! They’re eating the ferrets!”
He is pandering to a base that inhabits the Upside Down.
Trump shouldn’t worry about what Harris says — his words should scare him. Those two amateur assassins had ties to his party, not hers. Cultists can only chug down so many liar-liar smoothies until they start to gag. And things can quickly go sideways when a doomsday cult cracks up upon re-entry to reality.
Donald Trump is right to lament violent rhetoric. He is wrong to not look in a mirror and realize he is the architect of this political powder-keg.
His words always come back to haunt him.
Hopefully, they don’t get him killed.
