As Minneapolis descends into crisis following the Renee Goode shooting, Trump administration officials have repeatedly suggested that the left needs to tone down its rhetoric.
Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino, for example, insisted this week that “speech does lead to violence.” Shortly after White House border czar Tom Homan declared that “unless we reduce the hate speech, there will be more bloodshed,” Immigration and Customs Enforcement Acting Director Todd Lyons similarly condemned the “fierce rhetoric.”
There is a degree of irony in this situation. After all, the White House has spent the last week denouncing Goode as a “unhinged lunatic” and a “terrorist,” both descriptions that suggest the White House has no problem with “fierce rhetoric.”
Likewise, given the widespread violence and unrest in Minneapolis, word choice Because the main problem is difficult to take seriously.
However, White House press secretary Carolyn Leavitt made a related point during Thursday’s press briefing.
“Democratic Party [sic] The party has been degraded [ICE agents],” she said. “They even called them Nazis and Gestapo, which definitely contributed to the violence we saw in the streets. “
The president’s chief spokesman then showed reporters photos of people swearing and giving the middle finger.
What Levitt failed to mention was that just 48 hours earlier, Donald Trump had used profanity to give the middle finger to anyone who dared criticize him.
While the White House press secretary seemed shocked that people were equating federal agents with the Gestapo, Levitt may not have known that Trump also referred to federal agents as “Gestapo” in 2022 and 2023 – 20 times.
If Levitt is right and such comparisons “absolutely” lead to violence, why does her boss make the comparisons so frequently? So far, she hasn’t said anything.
Wider questions have been emerging. After the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Vice President J.D. Vance appeared on Fox News to comment on the inflammatory rhetoric: “When you call them ‘fascists,’ what do you want them to do?”
That seems like a reasonable point, except that Trump has repeatedly called his political opponents “fascists.”
Likewise, House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters, “You can’t call the other side ‘fascist’ and ‘enemy of the state’ and not understand that there are some deranged people in our society who will take that as a cue to act.”
But Trump has not only repeatedly called Democratic leaders “fascists,” but has also denounced political enemies he considers as “enemies of the people,” “enemies within,” “threats to democracy” and “evil.”
The basic gist is simple: The White House and its Republican allies believe that everyone would be better off if the left sounded less like Trump.
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