(ThyBlackMan.com) A gunman attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump last Saturday. Regardless of the shooter’s motive, I will state unequivocally that this act of political violence is unacceptable. There are few things on which most Americans agree; zero tolerance for this heinous act should be on that list.
While I am resolute in viewing the attempt on Mr. Trump’s life as an abject moral failure, I am equally resolute in repudiating his abhorrent political rhetoric, which may (or may not) have contributed to the incident. Trump’s history of astoundingly irresponsible and violent utterings — including while he was president — has contributed to an American culture that increasingly valorizes disrespect and normalizes misanthropy.
Donald Trump has explicitly called for violence to be perpetrated against his political opponents. For example, he suggested that a former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley, should be executed for speaking with a Chinese counterpart after President Biden won the 2020 election. Trump even mocked former Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband after he was brutally attacked at home.
Not satisfied with thuggishness, Trump has also repeatedly embraced authoritarianism, telling Sean Hannity last December that, if elected, he would be a dictator “on day one.” Nobody who is seeking to be the leader of the free world should ever speak in such a manner. Still, this isn’t surprising given that Trump has repeatedly said he would seek to imprison his political enemies.
Even more important than Trump’s calls for violence is his condoning of the Jan. 6 traitors — who he refers to as “patriots.” Trump has even said that he would pardon them if he prevails in November. One can scarcely conceive of a more dangerous affirmation of anti-American violence perpetrated by citizens. How this is not automatically disqualifying in the mind of any American is beyond my comprehension.
For his part, Donald Trump has been uncharacteristically subdued since the assassination attempt. We’ll see how long his restraint lasts. However, his running mate, Senator JD Vance, is sounding more and more like his new boss. On Saturday, Vance wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “The central premise of the Biden campaign is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs. That rhetoric led directly to President Trump’s attempted assassination.” It’s chilling to know that this man could be one heartbeat from the presidency.
Some Trump supporters are propagating a disingenuous and cynical narrative that those who denounce his authoritarian yearnings and hateful words are encouraging violence against him. This simply is not true. That argument is one of the myriad ways in which they not only excuse Trump’s behavior, but also attempt to cower those who are rightly concerned about our democracy.
On a related note, some will argue that I am “blaming the victim” (i.e., Trump). I am not. Of course, that charge is coming primarily from people who have no problem at all “blaming the victim” when said victim is a member of a marginalized group or a political enemy. The bottom line is that words have consequences; they always have. This is true for everyone, including the former president.
Of course, comfort with employing violence to achieve political ends is not the sole province of Donald Trump. Research demonstrates that an increasing number of Americans are willing to choose the bullet as compared to the ballot (to borrow Malcolm X’s memorable phrase). The Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI), in partnership with the Brookings Institution, conducted the 14th annual American Values Survey last year. The survey gives insight into our hardening political polarization.
Roughly 23% of Americans believe that “because things have gotten so far off track, true American patriots may have to resort to violence in order to save our country.” This is compared to just 15% in 2021. In short, nearly one in four Americans believes that political violence may be justified to “save” the nation. The survey has asked this question eight times since March 2021; last year was the first time that support for political violence rose above 20% among the general population.
Not surprisingly, the results reveal a partisan divide. One third of Republicans agreed with potentially engaging in political violence. This is compared with 22% of independents and just 13% of Democrats. (The percentages are higher for all three groups than they were in 2021.) Among religious groups, nearly a third of white evangelical Protestants agree with the question. That is substantially higher than any other religious group.
Most notably, 46% of Americans who believe that President Biden stole the 2020 election would consider political violence. That is in line with the 41% of Americans who hold a favorable view of Donald Trump and the 41% who subscribe to the white nationalist notion of “replacement theory.” Finally, the survey found that 39% of whites who identify as Christian nationalists would consider political violence.
Robert Jones, president and founder of PRRI, said, “Our last presidential election was the first in our history without a peaceful transfer of power. With flashes of political violence continuing among us, and the 2024 election on the horizon, we should be deeply concerned about the growing number of Americans who express openness to political violence.”
Age is also a factor in this topic. A YouGov poll found that there are substantial differences based on a respondent’s age. Specifically, older adults are more likely to view political violence as a “very big problem” as compared to younger adults. Just 37% of young adults (ages 18-29) said that political violence is a “very big problem.” This is compared to 42% of those ages 30-44, 55% of those ages 45-64, and 63% of those ages 65 and older.
The late Senator Barry Goldwater was the Republican Party’s presidential nominee in 1964. During his acceptance speech, Goldwater said, “Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice.” He lost that election. It remains to be seen whether he was merely 60 years too early.
Written by Larry Smith