The FBI and other officials say a sick individual tried to kill Donald Trump, and we should all be thankful that no one was hurt and that the Secret Service and local police appear to have done their jobs well.
He also thanked former President Trump, who blamed the assassination attempt on the Democratic Party, specifically “Biden and Harris.” On Monday, he said, “I’m being shot because of their words and actions, but I’m in a position to save the country. They’re the ones destroying the country from the inside out.”
Why am I grateful to Trump? First, he saved me a ton of time. I was going to argue this point with examples from Trump supporters. “Democrats Still in ‘Stop Hitler’ Instigation Mode” was the headline before it was muted. But collecting these quotes (often from second- or third-rate MAGA followers and apologists) is tedious work, and requires discussion with people who don’t want to be taken seriously and elevated.
But here it is, succinctly stated by a presidential candidate and target himself, and, better yet, it contains the underlying irony and hypocrisy of the longer version of the argument.
Trump believes that the charge against him of being a “threat to democracy” is inciting people to violence. This is possible, but there is little evidence that the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania in July was politically motivated. Whatever the specific motives of the attacker, a one-time Trump supporter turned critic, they were certainly deeply political.
In a country of 337 million people, it is always possible that a small percentage of unhealthy people will be incited to violence by “extreme” claims. But there is a problem with the claims made by Trump and his defenders. They are not opposed to extremist rhetoric that incites violence, but to such rhetoric deployed against Trump. There is no problem with similar rhetoric targeting Biden and Harris.
Take Trump’s complaint: “They’re the ones destroying the country,” he claims. Then he adds, “It’s called the enemy from within. They’re the real threat.”
In other words, Trump doesn’t think the problem is his apocalyptic rhetoric that incites violence. The problem is that people believe the rhetoric about him. They should believe the same rhetoric about his political opponents. Indeed, Trump has regularly claimed that “the country will end” if Harris, a self-described communist and fascist, is elected.
Few people, including Trump himself, who blamed Sunday’s assassination attempt on “hateful rhetoric directed at Trump,” in the words of New York Post reporter Miranda Devine, have a problem with Trump’s hateful rhetoric. It’s a staggering double standard. You can wax Jesuit-like about the difference between saying Harris is “destroying” the country and saying Trump is a “threat to democracy,” but logically and empirically, the difference is marginal.
But there is objective disagreement: People, including some eccentrics, believe the accusations against Trump are plausible. That may have more to do with Trump’s past actions (e.g., January 6) and stated positions (presumably invoking the Constitution to restore power) than with the persuasiveness of his critics or the power of the media.
In fact, whether the claim that Trump is a threat to democracy is extreme depends largely on whether it is true. If he is a threat to democracy, calling him that is simply an accurate description. Falsely shouting “Fire!” in a crowded theater is irresponsible, or, in today’s political jargon, “extreme.” If you actually witnessed a fire, it is a legitimate warning.
The assassination attempt came amid a heated debate between Trump and J.D. Vance over unfounded claims that Haitian immigrants were preying on cats and dogs in Springfield, Ohio. This claim led to bomb threats against Haitians in Springfield. Keep in mind that Trump regularly refers to immigrants as blood-sucking vermin. However, there have been no complaints or concerns from disgruntled people about his inflammatory remarks directed at Trump.
It’s worth remembering that conservatives used to denounce attempts to blame politicians for the actions of madmen. When then-Representative Gabby Giffords was shot in Arizona in 2011, many liberals ludicrously claimed Sarah Palin was to blame, and conservatives acted right. Now, many conservatives only sound like those liberals when defending Donald Trump.
If hypocrisy were helium gas, most people would make funny noises and some would just float away.
