https://sputnikglobe.com/20240715/did-democrats-anti-trump-rhetoric-lead-to-saturdays-assassination-attempt-1119385073.html
Did Democrats’ Anti-Trump Rhetoric Lead to Saturday’s Assassination Attempt?
Did Democrats’ Anti-Trump Rhetoric Lead to Saturday’s Assassination Attempt?
Sputnik International
Trump’s supporters have faulted Democrats’ rhetoric casting Trump as a unique and existential threat to the United States.
2024-07-15T23:37+0000
2024-07-15T23:37+0000
2024-07-16T00:07+0000
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An attempt on the life of former US President Donald Trump this weekend has spurred calls for reflection and unity after the startling incident.Special attention has been paid to Democrats’ rhetoric in recent months casting Trump as a particular threat to US democracy for his attempts to overturn the outcome of the 2020 election. Biden has insisted on focusing on the subject even as more traditional issues like abortion and the economy weigh heavily on voters’ minds.With the country still in shock after the first assassination attempt against a presidential candidate in several decades, much of the response has followed a familiar pattern after increasingly-common violent incidents in the US, with Biden’s political opponents alleging liberal rhetoric contributed to an environment that led to Saturday’s event.Journalist Daniel Lazare and political scientist Wilmer Leon joined Sputnik’s Fault Lines program Monday to respond to the claims and examine the evidence behind accusations that Trump is an existential threat to the United States’ system of governance.“First of all, I would note that if Trump hadn’t just sort of cocked his head in a certain way that that bullet would have struck his skull and would have killed him instantly,” said Lazare. “It was an assassination attempt which was very nearly successful.”Host Melik Abdul asserted there is “an ideological perspective built in to how people have responded to this,” alleging a political motivation behind claims of violent rhetoric.“Did we not see the same type of rhetoric when a Bernie Sanders supporter shot [Republican Representative] Steve Scalise and how that played into what Democrats were doing and Bernie Sanders’ rhetoric?” asked Abdul.The Louisiana lawmaker was seriously wounded when a left-wing activist opened fire during a Congressional baseball game in 2017. The incident, which the FBI has since branded an act of “domestic terrorism,” sparked some scrutiny over Sanders’ anti-capitalist rhetoric. Sanders repudiated the attack and rejected the use of political violence.Leon agreed the incident demonstrates hostility among supporters of both major parties but claimed Trump has been more willing to imply support for violence, leading to a discussion of liberal claims that Trump is a “fascist” and a threat to democracy. Any “tempering” of language after Saturday’s shooting will prove to be short-lived, Leon claimed, because Democrats’ portrayal of Trump as an existential threat is so central to their identity and campaign.Democrats’ logic would imply that Joe Biden should end his campaign, Leon said, agreeing with host Jamarl Thomas’s assertion that the octogenarian leader’s insistence on remaining in the race symbolizes the steady decline of the US political system.Lazare agreed with the assessment, arguing that Trump’s 2017 Muslim ban demonstrated “racist” and “authoritarian” tendencies. But the author insisted the former president’s emergence on the political scene as well as Saturday’s shooting should both be interpreted as signs “the US system is falling apart.”
https://sputnikglobe.com/20240715/employer-of-trumps-shooter-says-shocked-to-learn-of-his-involvement-in-attack-1119381826.html
https://sputnikglobe.com/20240715/democrats-muzzled-trump-assassination-attempt-curbs-opponents-rhetoric-1119382762.html
https://sputnikglobe.com/20240714/trump-shooting-complicates-matters-for-struggling-biden-campaign-1119375354.html
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Did Democrats’ Anti-Trump Rhetoric Lead to Saturday’s Assassination Attempt?
23:37 GMT 15.07.2024 (Updated: 00:07 GMT 16.07.2024) Trump’s supporters have faulted Democrats’ rhetoric casting Trump as a unique and existential threat to the United States.
An attempt on the life of former US President Donald Trump this weekend has spurred calls for reflection and unity after the startling incident.
“Have you taken a step back and done a little soul searching on things that you may have said that could incite people who are not balanced?” asked journalist Lester Holt during an interview with President Joe Biden Monday. The inquiry typifies questions that have emerged in the days after the shooting, although it remains unknown whether there was a political motive behind the attack.
Special attention has been paid to Democrats’ rhetoric in recent months casting Trump as a particular threat to US democracy for his attempts to overturn the outcome of the 2020 election. Biden has insisted on focusing on the subject even as more traditional issues like abortion and the economy weigh heavily on voters’ minds.
With the country still in shock after the first assassination attempt against a presidential candidate in several decades, much of the response has followed a familiar pattern after increasingly-common violent incidents in the US, with Biden’s political opponents alleging liberal rhetoric contributed to an environment that led to Saturday’s event.
Journalist Daniel Lazare and political scientist Wilmer Leon joined
Sputnik’s Fault Lines program Monday to respond to the claims and examine the evidence behind accusations that Trump is an existential threat to the United States’ system of governance.
“First of all, I would note that if Trump hadn’t just sort of cocked his head in a certain way that that bullet would have struck his skull and would have killed him instantly,” said Lazare. “It was an assassination attempt which was very nearly successful.”
“The language, without a doubt, has gotten heated,” said Leon, co-host of Sputnik’s The Critical Hour program. “It’s gotten heated on both sides. [Trump] calls migrants animals… the vitriol definitely swings both ways.”
Host Melik Abdul asserted there is “an ideological perspective built in to how people have responded to this,” alleging a political motivation behind claims of violent rhetoric.
“Did we not see the same type of rhetoric when a Bernie Sanders supporter shot [Republican Representative] Steve Scalise and how that played into what Democrats were doing and Bernie Sanders’ rhetoric?” asked Abdul.
The Louisiana lawmaker was seriously wounded when a left-wing activist opened fire during a Congressional baseball game in 2017. The incident, which the FBI has since branded an act of “domestic terrorism,” sparked some scrutiny over Sanders’ anti-capitalist rhetoric. Sanders repudiated the attack and rejected the use of political violence.
Leon agreed the incident demonstrates hostility among supporters of both major parties but claimed Trump has been more willing to imply support for violence, leading to a discussion of liberal claims that Trump is a “fascist” and a threat to democracy. Any “tempering” of language after Saturday’s shooting will prove to be short-lived, Leon claimed, because Democrats’ portrayal of Trump as an existential threat is so central to their identity and campaign.
“That’s not calling for violence, when you are making historical comparisons to behavior and to action, calling him a fascist,” the analyst argued. “That's not them saying that the man needs to be assassinated. That’s pointing out some consistency that we see in behavior with particular types of political individuals.”
Democrats’ logic would imply that Joe Biden should end his campaign, Leon said, agreeing with host Jamarl Thomas’s assertion that the octogenarian leader’s insistence on remaining in the race symbolizes the steady decline of the US political system.
Lazare agreed with the assessment, arguing that Trump’s 2017 Muslim ban demonstrated “racist” and “authoritarian” tendencies. But the author insisted the former president’s emergence on the political scene as well as Saturday’s shooting should both be interpreted as signs “the US system is falling apart.”
“Clearly it’s the structure that is disintegrating and itself is generating violence and itself is generating this kind of heightened, feverish rhetoric,” he claimed. “We’re sort of watching the entire system explode as it destabilizes and no one knows where this is all heading.”
