Is Violent Rhetoric To Blame for the Trump Assassination Attempt?

Plus: Is Biden fit to be president today, let alone stand for reelection?

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Is Violent Rhetoric To Blame for the Trump Assassination Attempt?

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In this week's The Reason Roundtable, editors Matt Welch, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Nick Gillespie, and Peter Suderman grapple with the current political climate in the U.S. after the attempted assassination of former president Donald Trump over the weekend.

01:44—Trump's Assassination attempt

27:06—President Joe Biden's press conference

43:07—Republican National Convention begins today

52:08—This week's cultural recommendations

Mentioned in this podcast:

"Donald Trump Bloodied in Assassination Attempt," by Eric Boehm

"Assassination Attempt," by Liz Wolfe

"Trump's Defiance of an Assassin's Bullet Reaffirmed Populist Appeal," by J.D. Tuccille

"The 2024 GOP Platform Barely Mentions Gun Rights," by Jacob Sullum

"Against 'Incitement,'" by Matt Welch

"In Defense of Inflamed Rhetoric," by Jack Shafer

"Blaming assassination on overheated commentary: No new tactic," by W. Joseph Campbell

'The #1 thing that you need to do is…to make it harder to hire illegal aliens in the first place.' In calling for 'large-scale deportations,' @JDVance1 calls for targeting businesses, which is a shift from traditional GOP priorities. pic.twitter.com/h840L24G6r

— Nick Gillespie (@nickgillespie) June 18, 2024

2023 American Values Survey on support for political violence

"Ukrainian President…Putin?" by Liz Wolfe

"Dave Weigel: What If Biden Quits?" by Zach Weissmueller and Liz Wolfe

"Biden Can't Shake This," by Liz Wolfe

"Biden's BFFs Knew the Cognitive Decline Was Real," by Robby Soave

"Biden Blames the Elites," by Liz Wolfe

"The 2024 GOP Platform Promises To 'Make America Affordable Again.' So Why Are They Embracing Fiscal Insanity?" by Veronique de Rugy

"Republicans Confirm Their Plan To Let Social Security Go Insolvent," by Eric Boehm

"Trump's Veep: Better Burgum Than Vance or Rubio," by Robby Soave

"Bad Therapist," by Nancy Rommelmann

"'Migrant invasion,' mass deportations top 2024 GOP platform," by Rafael Bernal

Jesus Fucking Christ. The @OhioState University should be deeply embarrassed by this alum. https://t.co/cEUYVDUo18

— Nick Gillespie (@nickgillespie) July 14, 2024

"Trump's Morally Retarded Plan to 'Make America Great Again' Through Operation Wetback and the Trump Wall," by Shikha Dalmia

"Operation Wetback (1953-54)," by Immigration History

Send your questions to [e-mail]. Be sure to include your social media handle and the correct pronunciation of your name.

Upcoming events:

• Tuesday, July 23: New York City premiere of Reason's Backpage documentary and panel discussion. Was the federal prosecution of online classified ad site Backpage.com a win for opponents of sex trafficking or a loss for First Amendment rights? View a new documentary by Elizabeth Nolan Brown and Paul Detrick and participate in a panel with Brown and Old Pros' Kaytlin Bailey about the case moderated by Nick Gillespie. Tickets are $10 and include beer, wine, soft drinks, and a light buffet. Seats are limited. Details here.

Today's sponsors:

• Students for Liberty
• Comparison is the thief of joy, and it's easy to envy other people's lives. It might look like they have it all together on their Instagram. But in reality, they probably don't. Therapy can help you focus on what you want, instead of what others have, so you can start living your best life. If you're thinking of starting therapy, give BetterHelp a try. It's entirely online. Designed to be convenient, flexible, and suited to your schedule. Just fill out a brief questionnaire to get matched with a licensed therapist, and switch therapists any time for no additional charge. Stop comparing and start focusing, with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com/roundtable today to get 10 percent off your first month.

Audio production by Ian Keyser; assistant production by Hunt Beaty.

Music: "Angeline," by The Brothers Steve

• Video Editor: Ian Keyser
• Producer: Hunt Beaty

What are we consuming this week?

Nick Gillespie

• Freedom Fest

Katherine Mangu-Ward

• Chatter

Peter Suderman

• Next Stop Wonderland

Matt Welch

• Generation Kill

---

Comments

[Don't look at me!]

Is Biden fit to be president today, let alone stand for reelection?

No, way past the sell by date.

[Public Entelectual]

The Washington Post has given him a clean bill of rhetorical health:
https://vvattsupwiththat.blogspot.com/2024/07/biden-rebuffs-violence-with-new-climate.html

[Public Entelectual]

And Vance makes Trump look like Calvin Coolidge.

[Mother's Lament]

Still shilling your scam site I see.

What is it with every crazy old man here having a prog conspiracy website?
Sqrlsy has one, Hank has one, and Russell Seitz here has one.

[JesseAz (5-30 Banana Republic Day)]

I blame geocities

[Fire up the Woodchippers! (5-30 Banana Republic Day)]

Hihn had one before he bit it. Remember his enemies list? I was proud to have been included three times.

[Sevo, 5-30-24, embarrassment]

FOAD, asshole.

[JesseAz (5-30 Banana Republic Day)]

Fake scam site.

[Public Entelectual]

What's the opposite of a fake scam prog conspiracy?

[JesseAz (5-30 Banana Republic Day)]

VVhat are you baking about?

[Public Entelectual]

What is the contrary of a fake conspiracy prog scam?
Just asking.

[JesseAz (5-30 Banana Republic Day)]

VVhat do you mean?

[Sevo, 5-30-24, embarrassment]

FOAD, shitbag.

[CE]

VP Harris and the Cabinet heads should have invoked the 25th Amendment on the day after the debate. It is obvious to everyone that the gig is up, and Biden is long past being mentally fit enough to rule.

In case no one noticed, the world is on the verge of WW3, with Russia invading Ukraine, China threatening Taiwan, North Korea increasing their military capabilities, and a major war potentially breaking out in the Middle East at any time. Not replacing Joe for at least six months (until Inauguration Day) is negligent malpractice by “the adults in the room.” The Democrat Party can choose a nominee other than Harris at their convention, if they think Harris can’t beat Trump.

[Overt]

They are waiting for the end of the Republican National Convention. It is all about the news cycles. They have lost control of the news cycle, and they need to get it back. If they had bounced Biden earlier, that news (of whomever is going to succeed him) would be drowned out by the RNC. So instead, they will wait for the RNC to complete, and try to bury it with the news of their new candidate- probably Michelle Obama.

[tracerv]

You really think they can talk Obama into it? How do they bypass Harris?

Shit is going to get crazy if this happens.

[diver64]

Offer Harris a boatload of cash and a University Presidentship or Ambassadorship to some nonsensical country like Jamaica to step aside.

[diver64]

I doubt the Cabinet would go along with VP Harris as not only their phony baloney jobs would be on the line but no one in their right minds wants Harris as President.

[Its_Not_Inevitable]

"to rule." Freudian slip or simply reality?

[JohnZ]

By now they already have. According to a report at The Gate Way Pundit, the atmosphere at the Democrat Party headquarters is nothing but doom and gloom. They have, for all practical purposes given up hope for the presidency. They have conceded the election to Trump.
They will work on the Senat and the Hose, for all the good that will do them.

[Rick James]

Reposing here:

My thoughts on this are mixed.

The previous situations– particularly the Giffords situation is not the best comparator. The Giffords situation was an obscure politician shot by a lunatic, and the media, desperate to make connections, found an unrelated campaign insider map with “bullseyes” over districts indicating which were to be targeted for campaigns. The connections the media made were so tenuous as to be laughable.

And the most important thing is, Republicans and right-leaning media figures hadn’t spent 8 years calling Giffords “Literally Hitler” with her face plastered on the cover of nationally distributed news magazines from titans of journalism morphed into an Adolf Hitler image, and major media figures literally… not figuratively but literally calling for her to be assassinated. Had that been occurring, even I may have been more circumspect about violent rhetoric at the time.

Nothing I say should be taken to suggest that I believe that because of that rhetoric, all of which has in fact been used against Trump was the reason for his attempted assassination. We simply don’t know why this kid decided to shoot Donald Trump. I mean, if we’re being all super-journalisty and just-the-facts-ma’am on this, it’s possible the kid was attempting to assassinate a firefighter with whom he had a vendetta… and unfortunately Trump got in the way… Annnyhoooo…

There’s simply no way to connect the violent rhetoric to Trump’s assassination– but I do think that we have a set of circumstances here in which we would not be wrong to start ROUNDLY condemning the media, the Biden administration and various members of Congress and their staffers if they continue doing what they’ve been doing the last 8 years.

[MollyGodiva]

Trump's rhetoric is far more inflammatory and violent then anything the Democrats can come up with. Trump's supporters in the media are even worse. Put the blame where it belongs, on the Republicans. The shooter was a Republican, I doubt he cared at all what a Democrat said.

[CE]

People are conditioned to discount the veracity and authority of the handful of right wing news media outlets though. People were previously conditioned to accept the utterings of CNN, NBC, CBS and ABC News as the gospel truth. (Only MSNBC was widely viewed as partisan in the same way that Fox News was.) One by one they’ve all lost credibility over time, but Biden’s debate disaster was a wakeup call to the gullible that they had been conned.

[5.56]

The shooter donated to ActBlue and was registered as a republican so he could cast sabotage votes in the closed PA republican primaries.

Also, you’re retarded.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

The shooter appears to have been a white, male, registered Republican from a white, downscale, Republican town. Evidence indicates he was a disaffected, socially awkward, incel gun nut.

The only reason that loser got anywhere near Trump is that the federal agents were stupid enough to rely on the red state hicks from Butler for police assistance.

[Mother's Lament]

He suddenly registered as a Republican like a month ago, after supporting the Democrats all his life, including financially.

We know what you guys are up to.

Here’s the official story so far: a random 20 year old acting completely alone walked within 150 yards of a presidential campaign rally with a rifle, climbed onto a rooftop in full view of Secret Service snipers, set up his shot and fired without anyone intervening and with no help from anyone.

This 20 year old is also so politically radical as to attempt an assassination and yet not radical enough to have ever posted any political writings or commentary on any social media site ever in his life.
He also wrote no manifesto and left behind no indication about why he did it.

His last and only political act, before attempting to kill the Republican candidate, was to register as a Republican.

You must believe this and ask no questions about it or else you are a conspiracy theorist. And one thing we know about assassination attempts is that there’s never any conspiring involved.

[Public Entelectual]

He suddenly registered as a Republican like a month ago, after supporting the Democrats all his life

He was too young to drink, and his Republican father bought the gun

including financially.
By donating fifteen bucks so he could vote against the saner candidates in their primaries.???

We know what you guys are up to.

Here’s the official story so far: a random 20 year old acting completely alone walked within 150 yards of a presidential campaign rally with a rifle,

Revisited a small town fair ground used by Trump before, and saw the twelve foot ladder left in place for roof access was still there as usual

climbed onto a rooftop in full view of Secret Service snipers,
who could not see him in the upsun glare
set up his shot and fired without anyone intervening
Except the cop who climbed up behind him, bur dropped down to the ground when he pointed his rifle at him one minute before he started firing
and with no help from anyone.

This 20 year old is also so politically radical as to attempt an assassination and yet not radical enough to have ever posted any political writings or commentary on any social media site ever in his life.
He also wrote no manifesto and left behind no indication about why he did it.

His last and only political act, before attempting to kill the Republican candidate, was to register as a Republican.

You must believe this and ask no questions about it or else you are a conspiracy theorist. And one thing we know about assassination attempts is that there’s never any conspiring involved.

As surely as we know that you seldom if ever think before you write.

[Sevo, 5-30-24, embarrassment]

FOAD, asshole bigot.

[TJJ2000]

Completely false. Democrats propose far more violent acts. The only difference is they say it in a more serious authoritarian tone as-if their violence isn't suppose to be an act of war.

Point & Case: The CHAZ insurrection. Hut Hum: "Just leave the insurrections alone but if you Trump get in the way hell will be paid."

[JesseAz (5-30 Banana Republic Day)]

Parody.

[Mother's Lament]

Trump’s rhetoric is far more inflammatory and violent then anything the Democrats can come up with.

Remember when Trump staged a Leni Riefenstahl-type Triumph of the Will event on prime time television replete with guards and red lighting, and spent most of the time calling half the country enemies of the state?

Oh wait, that was Joe.

[Public Entelectual]

Oh, wait, that was the scam site parody:

https://vvattsupwiththat.blogspot.com/2024/07/biden-rebuffs-violence-with-new-climate.html

[JesseAz (5-30 Banana Republic Day)]

Scam site.

[TrickyVic (old school)]

""Trump’s rhetoric is far more inflammatory and violent then anything the Democrats can come up with.""

Covering for you side?

[TrickyVic (old school)]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/kyle-gass-jack-black-s-tenacious-d-bandmate-says-don-t-miss-trump-next-time-after-assassination-attempt/ar-BB1q1TGG?ocid=msedgntp&pc=DCTS&cvid=d3652b2e783e4c54bebadcf2460e1866&ei=37

When was the last time a republican made such a comment about an assassination attempt?
 

[Rick James]

When has Trump or any major media figured called for Biden's assassination?

[I, Woodchipper]

Trump’s rhetoric is far more inflammatory and violent then anything the Democrats can come up with.

Give me *one* example. Just one.

[diver64]

Huh. What a demented person you are.

[Quo Usque Tandem]

Oh yeah, the "Summer of Love" people. Remind me; how many neighborhoods have Republicans burned down?

[Quo Usque Tandem]

And let's not forget the Republican ball game [Scalise] shooting; yeah, your team is SO peaceful.

[TJJ2000]

Don't forget BLM burning down cities.

[JesseAz (5-30 Banana Republic Day)]

Is this the thread i link to all the past articles regarding Trump's j6 incitement? Or his rhetoric on elections? Or do we pull a sarcjeff and pretend the past doesn't exist?

[Dillinger]

the The Ohio State University thing is 20 years past cool and was never for anyone but football players

[Nardz]

Remember when they tried to make "Stop Asian Hate" a thing so they could say Trump calling covid the China virus was causing violent attacks on Asians?
Funny how quickly that campaign went away when a few videos of the hate crimes came out, and the perpetrators were the usual demographic.

[CE]

I think the Supreme Court ruling in the Harvard admissions case may have contributed to burying that campaign too. The leftists were the ones really discriminating against Asian Americans.

[IceTrey]

As libertarians we all know the solution to our problems is less government. I just can't figure out if our situation is the result of stupidity or Illuminati.

[Incunabulum]

Hey, Gillespie, are you saying there's a ton of businesses across the country breaking the law by hiring illegal immigrants?

Because that sounds like an immigration problem.

[Social Justice is neither]

Tell a lie long enough, loud enough and often enough and people will believe you – this is the playbook of the media when it comes to Republicans and quadruply so for Trump.

What is the purpose of adopting such a tactic if not to sway people into such a belief and to act on the worldview YOU imparted up to and including violence when your rhetoric is apocalyptic in nature. So fuck off, you and your fellow travellers chose this gambit to manipulate low IQ or EQ individuals into action and your mobilization rhetoric left no evil off the table when it comes to ridding the world of your current boogeyman.

[Mother's Lament]

Watch all these chemjeff's and shrike's claiming Trump staged his own assassination attempt.

Do not underestimate the power of corporate media mind control on the bien pensants.

[MasterThief]

That photo makes me question if it was staged just because of how perfect it is as a propaganda tool. The dead bodies and Trump's wound suggest otherwise

[Mother's Lament]

Lol.

MSNBC pulling Morning Joe off the air before Trump is even a dictator is all the evidence I need to know we're on our own in the fourth reich

[I, Woodchipper]

these people are utterly deranged

[Mother's Lament]

Democrat congressman Dan Goldman: President Trump “cannot see public office again . . . and he has to be eliminated.”

[I, Woodchipper]

but they condemn violence!

[Wizzle Bizzle]

Bofsidze

[Fire up the Woodchippers! (5-30 Banana Republic Day)]

Goldman should be expelled from Congress, at a minimum.

[Jimothy]

Vance’s middle paragraph is true:

“The central premise of the Biden campaign is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs.”

Still, the person responsible for the shooting is the shooter. “Directly caused” is hyperbole, but Biden’s rhetoric, and especially other Democrats, celebrititoes, and media’s rhetoric, certainly contributed.

If someone were take their words literally—Trump is Hitler, a fascist, and a threat to democracy; his re-election would mean we would “lose everything” (those last two claims, at least, are direct from the Biden twitter account—then it’s understandable (not excusable) that they might take an action like this.

Saner minds would realize that such rhetoric is exaggeration, but when it’s repeated often, in a country of 330 million, is it any surprise someone who be driven to an action like this? And it’s not as if this rhetoric came from only some lunatic fringe; it’s the refrain of the Democrat party, many major media outlets, and Hollywood A and B listers.

If Democrats insist Trump is responsible for inciting the J6 riot, how can they dodge responsibility for this?

(Note, I don’t think either are responsible; the people taking the actions, be they would be assassins or rioters, are solely responsible for their own actions. I just would like politicians to apply their reasoning consistently, though I know that’s ridiculous to hope for).

[Mother's Lament]

Trump shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks was 'spotted on roof 26 minutes' before assassination attempt

Donald Trump's would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks was spotted on the roof 26 minutes before he opened fire, a bombshell new report claims.

Cops at the scene noticed Crooks, 20, on top of the building just 130 yards away from the rally stage and took two photos of him because he was acting suspiciously, sources told WPXI.

It's not clear if he had the AR-style rifle on him when he was first seen scaling the AGR International Inc. factory or if he stayed on the roof for the whole time.

Local police used the building as a 'staging area', leading to questions on Monday night over whether officers were inside when Crooks pulled the trigger at least eight times.

The shocking new allegations surfaced as authorities and the U.S. Secret Service face mounting questions over how Crooks was able to shoot the former president and kill a member of the rally crowd.

A horrifying video shows witnesses pointing at the roof and shouting at officers trying to warn them. MAGA fans also say they alerted law enforcement to Crooks as he crawled to his shooting position, but he was still able to shoot.

[chemjeff radical individualist]

So, let's not be naive, there is violent rhetoric on both sides. But it is qualitatively different on both sides.

For Team Blue, it tends to be directed at specific people, like Trump. Coupled with hyperventilating comparisons to Hitler and other historical baddies. And lots of people here have already talked about that.

But for Team Red, it seems to me, it's a little bit different. There isn't a lot of rhetoric directed at a specific person - although, there was a particularly tasteless example of a Kansas Republican fundraiser featuring a pinata with Biden's image, and donors could smack the Biden-pinata. And then there was the example of Trump sharing a video depicting an image of Biden hogtied in the back of a pickup truck.

There is also the very radical right, which does advocate mass violence (think Nardz or Proud Boys type people).

But in terms of "mainstream Republicans", there is also violent rhetoric - but it tends to be in the form of legitimizing violence as a means to settle disputes.

For example:
Sen. Cotton said that if a driver encountered protestors blocking a bridge, that drivers would be perfectly entitled to throw them off the bridge, or otherwise "take matters into their own hands".
Kari Lake (R-Nutjob) told her supporters to "strap on a Glock" to get ready for the election season.
Trump said in California, that shoplifters should fully expect to be shot.
In a recent poll, when respondents were asked if they agreed with the statement “American patriots may have to resort to violence in order to save the country,” 33% of Republicans said yes. That's a lot.

I think the overall message of this type of violent rhetoric, is as follows:

You are on the side of rightness, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. If someone gets in your way, you have my permission to use violence to settle the dispute. It would be legitimate and just, because you are good.

So the people who say that violent rhetoric is "only on the Left", they have a half a point. The violent political rhetoric specifically targeting certain people does tend to be on the left. But the Right has their own version, which tends to treat violence as an acceptable tool in the toolbox of interpersonal relations. And that toolbox is potentially used in all sorts of circumstances, including politics.

So if we really want to "lower the temperature", it means that on the left, knock it off with the insane Hitler/Nazi references, and the assassination fantasies, they are not helping. But on the right, it means stop casually normalizing violence as a legitimate resolution dispute mechanism. Violence should be the very last resort only.

[chemjeff radical individualist]

Links:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/04/17/kari-lake-strap-on-a-glock/73354547007/

https://www.newsweek.com/tom-cotton-suggests-protesters-would-tossed-off-bridge-arkasas-1890563

https://www.axios.com/2023/10/25/support-us-political-violence-prri-brookings-survey

https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/media/2023/10/05/trump-violent-shoplifters-milley-media/

https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/30/politics/trump-biden-video-truth-social-violent-rhetoric/index.html

https://kansasreflector.com/2024/03/10/biden-beaten-in-effigy-at-kansas-gop-fundraiser-drawing-condemnation-from-fellow-republicans/

[Nobartium]

But the Right has their own version, which tends to treat violence as an acceptable tool in the toolbox of interpersonal relations.

Because it is an acceptable tool.

Surrendering violence as a tool is to surrender freedom.

[TJJ2000]

^THIS. Well Said..
Peaceful submission into [Na]tional So[zi]al[ism] isn't acceptable.
The Revolutionary War wasn't fought for no reason at all.

[Quo Usque Tandem]

I think in any occasion, on any level, resort to violence must be the last solution.

But a necessary solution it must be, otherwise you'll be gulaged.

[chemjeff radical individualist]

Yes, this is the thrust of what I mean. Violence shouldn't be taken off the table completely. But it should be a last resort, and certainly don't brag about it.

[Fire up the Woodchippers! (5-30 Banana Republic Day)]

Oh Jeffy, working so hard to try and justify your ‘Boaf Sidez’ bullshit. You and your fellow travelers are the bloodthirsty murdering scum.

[Overt]

Chemjeff thinks somehow he is being clever here. But we know the story. We know that we would never see this cornucopia of links if it had been to prove that the Left had violent tendencies. He and Squirrlsy are the same- the right is evil! the right are assholes! "Don't pay attention to the left! And sure, something bad on the left happened, but we can't talk about that unless we first acknowledge that the actual problem is the right."

It has become so old and predictable that it is almost a parody at this point.

[chemjeff radical individualist]

We know that we would never see this cornucopia of links if it had been to prove that the Left had violent tendencies.

You’re right, because I wouldn’t have to. You all would have done it for me long before I could get around to it.

“Don’t pay attention to the left! And sure, something bad on the left happened, but we can’t talk about that unless we first acknowledge that the actual problem is the right.”

In case you hadn’t noticed, Overt, there is a dominant narrative around here along the lines of “the left is corrupt/evil/terrible, but the right is just hapless/misunderstood/inept”. Do you agree with this double standard? Yes or no?

If the answer is “no”, then how do you suggest we discuss the *reality* of the situation in which both teams deserve to be called out for their fuckery? You can’t count on 90+% of the commenters to say anything but a scant few words critical of the right (and when they do, it is only when they are perceived as “acting leftist”.)

So the "actual problem", as I see it, is on both sides. You and 90+% of the commenters around here will happily talk about the problem with the left. How exactly should we discuss the problem with the right, if not for people like me bringing it up?

Oh and by the way, you didn’t even attempt to address the substance of my question. That is a Jesse-like move. Don’t be a Jesse.

[Ben of Houston]

Look. Here's the problem. There is transparent documentation about political violence from the left being actively hidden while all racial violence is ascribed to the right to support a claim that the right is more violent. We are talking well known incidents of political violence and even terrorism that are conveniently ignored.

Now, numerous groups are bending over backwards to claim beyond any sense that this assassination attempt wasn't political violence from the left while we have a slew of articles about people explicitly supporting this assassination and wishing it had been successful.

All the while, the press and even elected officials have been shouting a combination of "Will no one rid me of this meddlesome candidate?" and "The world will end if this man is elected" for the greater part of a decade now.

Given all this, I will trust my lying eyes. The political violence my eyes have seen is overwhelmingly from the Democratic party.

[diver64]

Bro...quoting a poll taken by the leftist Brookings outfit does not give you credibility. They are a well known Democrat Progressive outfit pushing an agenda.

[Rev Arthur L kuckland (5-30-24 banana republic day)]

How about the attempted Kavanaugh assassination, or the gop baseball shooting, or the scaliese shooting, or the pregnancy center bombings, or the sumer of love. It seems like there is one group of things more prone to violence then the rest of the populaton

[AT]

But in terms of “mainstream Republicans”, there is also violent rhetoric – but it tends to be in the form of legitimizing violence as a means to settle disputes.

Notice how they're responsive acts though?

The climate cultists are disrupting traffic. Yea, they need to be forcibly removed.

The shoplifters are shoplifting - usually en masse - and nobody is doing anything about them. Yea, shop owners need to employ forcible deterrents.

American patriots may need to resort to violence. Yea, because the druggies and the derelicts are setting up camp in front of our businesses, in our parks, on our sidewalks, squatting in homes, turning entire city blocks into ruin - and nobody's doing anything about them. Yea, because the Acolytes of the Fentanyl Martyr run berserk in the streets, stealing anything they can get their hands on, attacking and killing anyone who gets in their way - and nobody's doing anything about them. Yea, because the criminal illegal aliens are out there raping children, assaulting everyday pedestrians, and otherwise being criminals simply by being here illegally - and nobody's doing anything about them.

If the State isn't going to police itself, what are the citizens who rely upon said State for their safety and security to do?

Self-defend.

[JohnZ]

Local militias and vigilante groups.
Like in the old west.

[MatthewSlyfield]

You don’t get to have it both ways. If the Democratic rhetoric that Trump is an evil fascist and is a threat to democracy did nothing to contribute to the assassination attempt, then Trump's stolen election rhetoric had nothing to do with the J6 Capitol riot.

Both or neither.

[Piru]

Curious that the one speaker is asserting that it is not the vitriolic dystopian political rhetoric that is responsible for these assassinations and attempted efforts and yet, other than Gabby Gifford, all seem to be directed against Republicans. How is that explained?

[MatthewSlyfield]

They make no attempt to explain it.

[Supply Side]

A 20 year old nut ball was able to open carry an assault weapon due to laws forced on America by Russia adjacent NRA. Most mass shooting are done by nut jobs who had legal access to assault weapons. This is what Russia and Iran want- The US in chaos. Trump et al are aligned with Russia and favor laws that put us all at risk.

[Use the Schwartz]

Poe's Law.

[JohnZ]

Thanks for the laugh.

[Fire up the Woodchippers! (5-30 Banana Republic Day)]

I hope Biden’s SS DEI hire refuses to resign for as long as possible. This is hurting Biden. And I wish for it to go on hirting him.

[Supply Side]

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/07/16/the-trump-vance-ticket-is-a-repudiation-of-free-market-conservatism-00168578

[Fire up the Woodchippers! (5-30 Banana Republic Day)]

Is anyone who reads Politico really going to be swayed one way or the other by their hit pieces?

[BioBehavioral_View]

Murky As Usual

Do not expect ever to know the truth about the attempted assassination of former-President Trump. Say it was the Biden/Obama cabal orchestrating the plot. What would be the consequences for the nation of releasing such an official report? Civil war? Nothing? Something in-between?

“Some men look at constitutions with sanctimonious reverence, and deem them like the ark of the covenant, too sacred to be touched.”-Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)

One consequence is certain; namely, Americans' confidence in the current broken system would be shaken to its rotted core. Can the system be fixed? Yes, relatively easily. How? By revising the Constitution to incorporate Biobehavioral Science. What's that? Read all about it in the novel, Retribution Fever. The Washingtonian establishment will hate it.

https://www.nationonfire.com/who-done-it/ .

[JohnZ]

Absolutely, the MSM is to blame for the assassination attempt.
This is the same MSM that whipped the leftists to a frenzy when Geroge Floyd O.D. on fent that caused nearly $2 billion in destruction and damage from the riots that wracked nearly every city in the country. Hundreds injured and dozens dead.
Yes, the MSM carries most of the blame.
Maybe it's time for them to feel some of the pain and anguish.

[AT]

Every leftist - particularly of the BIPOC or LGBT pedo variety - has to agree that the answer to the question at hand is YES.

Because they say this every time they're slighted in any way. They call it "being triggered." Use of the N-word or the F-word (faggot, not the other one) are considered "attacks." They claim that rhetoric contrary to their own narratives "threatens, harms, and terrorizes" them. For pete's sake, ANY criticism of the gender bender cult is considered "actual violence."

It's a sneaky little trick for encouraging self-silencing. (Of course, then they later say that "silence is violence" when you refuse to actively/vocally support them.)

But, y'know what? That idiocy cuts both ways. If my statement about a biological reality triggers you, then your statement supporting (or not condemning) an assassination attempt makes you just as bad as the assassin. And a traitor.

What I really love about this last 30-days or so - between Biden proving himself the equal of a bowl of tapioca pudding and the attempted assassination of a political rival - is that the mask is off for the Left. They can't hide ANY of it anymore. Not their cognitive dissonance, not their water-carrying, not their hateful anathema towards all things not Them, and now not this "words are violence" nonsense.

Leftism was always destined for self-destruction, because everything it's ever stood for is self-destructive. I'm just glad I lived long enough to actually see it happen in real time.

[WuzYoungOnceToo]

Framing these sorts of issues as idiotic questions of the form "Is X to blame for Y?" is as disingenuous as it is childishly stupid. Most events of this sort are the result of a complex combination of many factors/precursors, so there is rarely (if ever) one single "cause" that is "to blame". If being honest (and not ridiculously simple-minded in one's approach) the best one can do is to identify and acknowledge what contributed to increasing the probability of such an event. In this case, the mental health...or lack thereof...of the shooter is one of several significant causative factors. But even the mentally ill are generally influenced by real external stimuli, and it is pretty hard to honestly argue that years of demonization of an individual as "an existential threat", "literally Hitler", "evil", someone who "needs to be eliminated", etc,,,not only by random nobodies, but also normalized by media outlets and prominent figures (celebrities, politicians, etc) doesn't create an environment that makes it significantly more likely that some nut-job who is generally sympathetic to the beliefs of those doing the vilifying is going to see those things as moral justification for doing what this particular nut-job did.

[It's only a paper moon, Nominalists]

NO, we need more !!! OF COURSE IT IS. Peaceful rhetoric isn't to blame.
Do you even read what you write?

[Peter Kreeft taught me LOGIC, BEWARE !!!!!!!]

This is a form of the stupid contention that rhetoric has no effect on anything, stupid because the article itself is rhetoric and inflammatory at that. Why do you even call it 'violent' if your point is to argue that what the violent person says violently is not violent.
We all have off days so I will chalk this up to a bad day.

After at least 3000 years , we can agree : Wiolent rhetoric intends violence , obviously