THE VIOLENT POLITICAL DIVISIVENESS BEGAN AT THE JAN. 6TH ATTACK ON THE CAPITOL . SINCE THAT DARK, VIOLENT DAY IN OUR HISTORY, TRUMP, HIS SONS, ALLIES, AND SUPPORTERS HAVE NORMALIZED VIOLENCE INTO OUR POLITICAL SYSTEM BY CONVINCING MAGA SUPPORTERS THEY MAY HAVE TO KILL THE ENEMY, (MEANING DEMOCRATS). YESTERDAY, TRUMP BECAME A VICTIM OF THAT KIND OF POLITICAL, HATEFUL GUN VIOLENCE. WILL HE USE THIS ATTEMPT ON HIS LIFE TO GLORIFY HIMSELF AS A MARTYR AND HERO, OR WILL HE BECOME A SAVER OF LIVES, NOT A DESTROYER?
In contrast, before we knew anything about the shooter, Don Jr. was inciting violence by blaming the ” radical left” for the assassination attempt on his father. Anti-migrant rhetoric was also circulating from the Trump camp. Don Jr. uses extreme violent, cruel rhetoric against Democrats and Republicans who oppose Trump and his ideology. Many believe Jr. is perhaps being used as the mouthpiece for his father, who doesn’t want to go too far with verbal violence and cruelty that might hurt him politically. Don Jr. eerily seems to enjoy being cruel. After the attack on Paul Pelosi, he posted a crude photo of a hammer and men’s underwear on his Instagram, with the caption “Got my Paul Pelosi Halloween costume ready”—echoing Higgins’ anti-LGBTQ smear:)
Trump, his family, and political allies must be held accountable to stop using war- inspiring rhetoric, which convinces their voters that violence is justified in order to save democracy. Donald Trump’s reaction to his supporters were chanting to “hang my Pence” at the Jan. 6th was to say. “Maybe our supporters have the right idea. Maybe Mike Pence deserves it”. He told Kevin McCarthy “maybe they are more upset about the stolen election than you are Kevin.” He did not denounce cries to hurt Pence or to kill Speaker Nancy Pelosi. He was only upset that one of his violent supporters got shot. Violence has been made funny, necessary, and patriotic by the MAGA movement. Unfortunately, now part of Trump’s legacy is an assassination attempt on his life. Time will tell if this traumatic event will result in Trump lessening violent rhetoric or increasing it to rally his base.
If aggressive messaging continues, both Republican and Democratic candidates will remain in physical danger.
DEMOCRATIC POLITICIANS WILL NOT BE CRACKING JOKES ABOUT THIS HORRIBLE ATTEMPT TO KILL TRUMP. IN CONTRAST, TRUMP AND HIS ALLIES MADE A MOCKERY WHEN NANCY PELOSI’S HUSBAND WAS HIT ON THE HEAD WITH A HAMMER IN HIS HOME BY AN AVID TRUMP SUPPORTER AND HATER OF SPEAKER PELOSI.
Violent rhetoric by militia groups has been tolerated and even celebrated by MAGA Republicans. Violent cries for “war” have been called for by former Trump aide and incarcerated inmate, Steve Bannon. Bannon also calls for MAGA supporters to, “burn down the government.” Cries for civil war by extremist Republican groups have become a normalized part of the Republicans 2025 campaign. Silent Republicans, who are afraid of Trump, are part of the rise in political violence.
JOE BIDEN AND TRUMP BELIEVE IN A DIFFERENT FORM OF GOVERNMENT FOR AMERICA. TRUMP, IN HIS OWN WORDS, HAS DECLARED THAT HIS DEFINITION OF DEMOCRACY IS IN CONFLICT WITH THE CONSTITUTION ON MANY LEVELS.
JOE BIDEN IS A CONSTITUTIONALIST TO A FAULT, EVEN WHEN THE INTERPRETATION OF THE LAW BY THE SUPREME COURT CONFLICTS WITH PRECEDENCE AND DIMINISHES FREEDOMS. BIDEN’S POLITICAL APPROACH TO DEFENDING THE CONSTITUTION CALLS ON THE VOTERS AND AMERICA’S VALUES TO FIGHT TO MAINTAIN AMERICA AS A DEMOCRATIC STATE. THE REPUBLICAN VERSION OF FIGHTING FOR DEMOCRACY IS TO CONSIDER VIOLENCE, CIVIL WAR, AND BUILDING ALLIANCES WITH WORLD DICTATORS. AFTER THIS ATTEMPT ON HIS LIFE, WILL TRUMP CHANGE HIS ROMANTIC VIEW OF VIOLENCE?
The 2025 election will decide the political direction America takes. However, as President Biden says, ” Despite our political differences, there is no place for violence in American politics.”