Speaking in response to yesterday's shooting death of Charlie Kirk, Donald Trump said:
For years, those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world''s worst mass murderers and criminals. This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we're seeing in our country today, and it must stop right now.
Three points.
First...
MSNBC political contributor Steve Benen wrote:
If the United States is going to do something about political violence and pull the nation back from a dangerous cliff, it's going to take sustained, sober and responsible leadership.
This was an opportunity to deliver a unifying message that lowered the temperature. Trump chose a different path.
Steve Benen is absolutely correct.
Continued finger-pointing and vilification of "the other side" is not an effective way to stop politically motivated violence. Instead, it only encourages it.
If Trump were able to rise above his own massive, out of control ego and his vindictive, highly divisive persona, he would stop and think before saying things that only help fan the flames of division. Trump has shown zero desire, willingness, or ability to tone down the rhetoric since he entered politics ten years ago.
Yesterday, he showed his true colors once again.
Second...
Trump has railed incessantly, ad nauseam, and continues to do so, about "radical" and "evil" liberals. Apparently, he is so caught up in his own little fantasy world that he fails to realize that his ranting and raving has the exact same effect.
A recent, in-your-face example is what Trump said on July 4 of this year at "Salute to America" event in Des Moines, Iowa (bold added for emphasis):
All of the things we did with the tax cuts and rebuilding our military, not one Democrat voted for us. And I think we use it in the campaign that's coming up, the midterms. But all of the things that we've given, and they wouldn't vote. Only because they hate Trump. But I hate them, too. You know that? I really do, I hate them. I cannot stand them, because I really believe they hate our country, you want to know the truth.
On Memorial Day of this year Trump made similar, divisive statements referring to those on the left as "WARPED," "RADICAL," and "MONSTERS WHO WANT OUR COUNTRY TO GO TO HELL".
What kind of message does this send to Trump supporters, especially those on the far, radical right?
Trump's ardent MAGA base hangs on every word that comes out of his filthy mouth. Every time Trump vilifies the left, it reinforces their beliefs that Democrats, liberals, and the left are to be "hated" and looked down upon. This is exactly the same strategy that was used by Adolph Hitler and the Nazi's to make so many Germans hate Jews.
Once again, Trump has demonstrated his hypocrisy, on the grandest of scale.
Third...
As of late today, Kirk's assassin is still at large.
We know virtually nothing about the the shooter.
Yet, just as he did with the deadly plane crash at Washington Reagan National Airport in January of this year, Trump assumes that the tragedy was caused by someone on the left, and then disseminates that information as if it were fact.
On February 2, 2025, I posted and HWR article entitled "Op-Ed | Trump, MAGA, and the Blurring and Rejection of Objective Reality". Once again, yesterday, Trump continued his assault on truth and objective reality.