MSNBC host Ari Melber tore into Donald Trump and other Republicans on Wednesday for repeatedly spewing rhetoric that encourages violence in American politics.
The MSNBC host said Wednesday that the disturbing attempted bombings of Democratic leaders and CNN come after years of Trump ramping up dangerous rhetoric directed at his critics and the media.
“As we have stressed throughout our coverage, we do not know the suspects or motives for today’s attacks,” Melber said. “But we do know that Donald Trump fans the flames of political violence and praised an illegal assault on a journalist as recently as last week.”
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Ari Melber says Trump has repeatedly fanned the flames of political violence. #ctl #p2 pic.twitter.com/TUpKPCO2Af
— PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) October 24, 2018
Melber said:
A tense political mood with this election two weeks away and a president who, let’s be clear, goes further than most public officials in directly praising and encouraging violence. As we have stressed throughout our coverage, we do not know the suspects or motives for today’s attacks. The authorities haven’t released that kind of information. But we do know that Donald Trump fans the flames of political violence and praised an illegal assault on a journalist as recently as last week. … That last reference is to a Republican candidate who pled guilty to assault for attacking a reporter. He actually got a six-month deferred sentence. Experts note there’s been a series of violent events in American politics recently. The so-called pizza gate shooting in Washington one month after the 2016 election. The shooter responding to right-wing fake news conspiracy theories about a pizza shop there. Or the white supremacists who rallied in Charlottesville where James Fields killed Heather Heyer with his car. He actually goes on trial for first degree murder for that next month.
Trump has weaponized American politics
In the Trump era, political opponents aren’t people who simply have a difference of opinion. To this president, they are “evil” enemies. It’s no surprise that his mob of foaming-at-the-mouth supporters has latched onto that rhetoric.
But on Wednesday, Trump’s reckless spewings weren’t just words to applaud at a political rally. They were marching orders for a dangerous individual to attempt to kill Democrats and members of the free press.
And it appears that Trump and his supporters aren’t about to change their ways. As PoliticusUSA’s Jason Easley pointed out a short time ago, the MAGA mob at Trump’s Wisconsin rally started shouting “lock her up” only hours after Hillary Clinton was targeted by a bomber.
Time and again, Trump and other right-wing extremists have used reckless language that encourages violent behavior from their supporters. What happened on Wednesday is the culmination of that dangerous rhetoric.
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Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
