The heartfelt hope I had about our country uniting following the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump last Saturday, was met with vicious attacks from right-wing radicals blaming me for the hate that led to the shooting. Knowing what I know about the mood of America, I should not have been surprised. But it was a pathetic statement about where we are as a country.
Comments like, “You caused this!” “The hate you spew every day inspired this violent act!” and “Blood is on your hands!” came from right-wing radicals who instantly used an attempt to assassinate Trump to blame the liberal left. Interestingly, I am NOT the liberal left. I AM a registered Independent and a Radical Moderate with opinions on every issue, but my opinions are not all filtered through the same myopic political prism. Yet, since my opinions contradict the general views and mentality of Donald Trump, I am conveniently labeled the liberal left.
In a continuation of the response to the assassination attempt on Trump Monday afternoon on my talk show, I repeated my sadness over the attempt to kill Trump and said it was time for us to come together and recognize that having a different opinion from Donald Trump and his right-wing followers does not equate to a desire to kill him. I wonder if the desire to kill Biden is what drives the misunderstanding between opinions and hate?
The right-wing radical rhetoric continued on the Scoot On The Air Facebook page, with totally irrational comments rendered from nonsensical minds. The pure hate is disgusting.
President Biden saying there’s a bullseye on Trump during a private conversation was not to be taken literally any more than saying “kill ‘em” during a sporting event. Violent verbiage has always been used in competitive situations, and politics in 2024 is about as competitive as it gets. Words expressing violence are often used figuratively - not literally. And yet, that is something some Americans do not understand.
As a talk show host, I have heard and covered violent verbiage from the right often and in an attempt to expose the blatant hypocrisy of the right’s effort to blame violent images from the left for the attempt on Trump’s life, here’s a list of some of the violent, hateful that has come from the right, and not just trolls on the Internet - these are powerful people with huge platforms.
Kevin Roberts, President of The Heritage Foundation, recently spoke about a Second American Revolution that will “only be bloodless if the left allows it to be.”
Donald Trump tweeted a video with an image of Joe Biden gagged and hogtied in the back of a pickup truck.
Donald Trump, Jr. shared a meme showing white underwear and a hammer with the caption, “Got my Paul Pelosi Halloween costume ready.”
Marjorie Taylor Greene called for Nancy Pelosi to get a “bullet in the head.” Also, Greene responded to a Facebook comment on her page about hanging Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton saying, “Stage is being set. Players are being put in place.”
There are more examples that I talked about on the show, and these are just a few examples of violent, incendiary language coming from the right.
Following the tragic attempt on Trump’s life, it is obvious that the right has no intention of working toward uniting America under a better banner.
The extreme right-wing cable news channel Newsmax - founded by Trump’s friend, Christopher Ruddy - is using the assassination attempt to raise money to save the failing network.
The use of the assassination attempt to promote hate and to lay blame on anyone who has ever criticized or disagreed with Donald Trump is un-American and tragic.
