Jen Psaki destroyed the Trump campaign’s spin of his bloodbath comments by providing the full context for what Trump was talking about.
Psaki said on her MSNBC show:
If they want us to consider the full context, let’s do just that because the full context is that Trump kicked off the same exact rally by saluting the people who were convicted for the deadly assault on the US Capitol on January 6th, all to the tune of the national anthem sung by a choir of imprisoned insurrectionists. The full context is that some of the first words out of Trump’s mouth last night, same rally were thanking those rioters and calling them patriots. The full context is that he also said in this same rally, quote, if this election isn’t won, I’m not sure that you’ll ever have another election in this country. The full context is that he went on to say some undocumented immigrants are quote, not people. And of course, the full context is that this is much bigger than one single speech.
This embrace of political violence, this dehumanizing language. This is what Donald Trump has been preaching for years. In January, he warned that there will be quote bedlam in this country. If his criminal prosecution derailed his campaign late last year. He echoed the dehumanizing language of Adolf Hitler comparing his political opponents to vermin and saying immigrants are quote poisoning the blood of our country last month. He said there would be potential death and destruction if he was charged in the Manhattan criminal probe. And during his first term, he flat out refused to condemn the political violence at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia saying there were very fine people on both sides. In 2020, he reportedly asked his defense secretary about shooting people who were protesting the death of George Floyd saying, can you just shoot them, just shoot them in the legs or something? And of course, his very words inspired violence on January 6th 2021 when he told a crowd of his supporters to walk down to the Capitol and fight like hell because quote, you’ll never take back our country with weakness. Trust me, I could go on and on and on.
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We all know by now that Trump’s illusions to political violence are not merely rhetorical. His supporters take them literally. That’s part of the big problem here. And he knows that too. So, no, we did not miss the full context. This was not some meandering off-message comment. This is his message.
Video:
Jen Psaki provides the full context of Trump's bloodbath remark, "We did not miss the full context, this was not some meandering off-message comment. This is his message. " pic.twitter.com/h3yiHDzKTy
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) March 17, 2024
The full context is that Trump continues to sell the myth that he is strong, so he emulates the language of authoritarians. It doesn’t matter what Trump was talking about. Democratic leaders don’t use violent rhetoric when discussing domestic politics. If Biden would have said there will be a bloodbath if his infrastructure legislation wasn’t passed.
The Trump campaign’s spin defies common sense and doesn’t add up. Everyone knows what Trump was really talking about. After 1/6, there is no ambiguity. Trump talks political violence in the hope that his supporters will act.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
