For the second time in just under three months, an alarming attempt to harm ex-POTUS Donald Trump transpired, drawing attention to the concerning surge in vehement rhetoric. In response to these recent threats, Team Trump assembled and disseminated a comprehensive catalogue of countless instances where the Democrats and media figures have employed inflammatory language against Trump. This list includes instances where Trump was deemed a ‘danger to Democracy’ and even instances where individuals expressed the idea of his elimination.
The first attempt, endured with narrow escape by Mr. Trump, took place on the morning of Aug 1st at Trump’s Palm Beach golf club. It was here that 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh allegedly brandished a scoped AK-47-style rifle with the aim of causing harm to the former president.
A short span of two months earlier, another such intimidation was witnessed during a political rally in Butler, PA. This impending doom was averted in the blink of an eye as Mr. Trump managed to evade a bullet aimed at his ear. Nevertheless, the incident claimed the life of an innocent Trump supporter named Corey Comperatore.
In an email circulated among supporters following the recent attempted assault, Trump’s team indicated that such individuals ‘find encouragement in the deceptive and inflammatory talk propagated by democrat Kamala Harris and their accomplices from the counterfeit news outlets for an extended period’.
Moreover, the email emphasized the relentless escalation of provocative language used against President Trump by Democrats, particularly in the events leading up to these two assassination attempts. It enlisted over 50 instances portraying this aggressive commentary.
For instance, Democrat Kamala Harris, slated for the presidential nominee, has recurrently labelled Trump as a ‘menace to our democratic rights and key freedoms.’
In a similar vein, President Joe Biden has made statements putting Trump ‘in the line of fire’, dubbed Trump a ‘critical threat’, and described ‘MAGA Republicans’ as extremists who pose a danger to the ‘core tenets of our republic.’
After Sunday’s assassination attempt narrowly missed, it was not the perpetrator who received blame from certain media factions, but rather Trump himself, the victim of the violent act. The email from Trump’s team pointed at this unexpected scapegoating.
To illustrate, NBC’s Lester Holt faulted Trump and his Vice Presidential candidate, Senator JD Vance (R-OH), for the failed assassination due to their ‘steadily robust dialogue on the campaign trail.’
Complementing the above views, an opinion piece published by the Cincinnati Enquirer mere hours post the second attack – defended the argument that Mr. Trump tends to ‘invite these situations upon himself.’
It almost seems like these inflammatory narratives are setting a dangerous precedent when it comes to respected figures of our society. The team maintains that vilifying words can have a real world, and sometimes violent ramifications.
The aforementioned catalogue of instances is an eye-opening revelation of how hyperbolic and potentially dangerous rhetoric can become mainstream. All this refocuses on an essential question: to what degree does our rhetoric contribute to actual violent acts?
While the full list compiled by Trump’s team offers further chilling instances, it raises an earnest conversation about the tone and potential impacts of political dialogue in our current sociopolitical climate.
Democrats’ rhetoric inspired another attempt on President Trump’s life.
In case they forgot, we made a list? pic.twitter.com/PbwQ3q6sOf
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) September 16, 2024