Normalizing Murder
Assassination has a growing appeal
It turns out that Trump Derangement Syndrome is a potentially fatal condition…for Trump. That may only come as a surprise to TDS sufferers.
Last July, after a shooter missed by inches killing Donald Trump the candidate, I wrote that, in all likelihood, the immediate reaction of fervid anti-Trump folks was regret that the shooter hadn’t succeeded. I was rebuked for the thought—what a thing to say! Now we learn there indeed is burgeoning belief that murdering Trump is an acceptable solution to a political problem.
In a just-released Rutgers University-supported survey, we find that the appeal of assassination is pervasive on the left. “Political violence targeting Donald Trump and Elon Musk is becoming increasingly normalized,” a team of researchers concluded. “…tolerance—and even advocacy—for political violence appears to have surged, especially among politically left-leaning segments of the population.”
Specifically, almost half (48%) of left-of-center respondents to the survey said murdering Elon Musk would be at least partially justified, with more than half (55%) feeling the same about the president. A further breakdown: Nine percent said killing Musk would be completely justified and 13 percent believed the same about Trump. That’s a lot of people with a lot of hate.
Such perverse thinking is a product of relentless extremist rhetoric. An entire culture has developed around the belief that Trump is Hitler II sans the mustache, that every single thing The Donald does, says, or believes is depraved, silly or vacuous. He has no virtues, is irredeemably bad, and is out to get ordinary Americans of every preferred pronoun.
This constant demonization has created a murderous environment for the president. Like the young man who shot the United Healthcare CEO in the back, if anyone manages to shoot, knife, blow-up or otherwise terminate the 47th president, he or she will be lionized by the most rabid adherents of the anti-Trump crowd.
Anyone who has helped foster such thinking has contributed to public disorder. Shame on any once-reasonable person who was tipped into extremism by personal contempt for President Trump and his ideas. To have helped spawn such a dangerous environment is not embarrassing or awkward. It’s disgraceful.
Vitriol—whether from left or right—is the hallmark of individuals without a reasonable argument, without fresh ideas or the slightest evidence of an open mind. It is the same whether the vitriol is spewed in Poughkeepsie or Palestine. Frustrated with their inability to persuade, people of such fervency are sloganized into violence—i.e. “Death to Infidels,” “Orange Man Bad,” “F##k Trump.” These are not thoughtful takes on issues, nor are they contributions to any kind of respectful conversation. They are indicators of a polarized society blowing itself apart.
We should hope that neither President Trump nor any one of his lieutenants is murdered between now and the end of his term. We also should hope that sensible people will reassert themselves in our national conversation and help normalize grudging respect, instead of legitimizing murder. Enduring republics don’t handle disputes by killing.