The Consequences Of Rhetoric
When Donald Trump’s first act as the 47th president of the United States was to pardon 1,500 people involved in his January 6 2021 coup attempt, he gave license to his supporters to harm his opponents on the understanding that he would protect them. Those pardons were not for what they had done, but for what he would still need them to do. This week, a rabid Trump supporter dressed up as a cop and shot two elected Minnesota Democrats and their spouses, resulting in the deaths of Melissa and Mark Hortman.
It’s unlikely Trump had ever heard of most of the 70 people on the assassin’s list, but it still serves his purposes in intimidating his opponents. We know that the governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz, was on the list. You may remember him as Kamala Harris’s running mate for the presidency a few months ago. Trump says he will not “waste time” calling the “whacked out” governor. That he won’t call the governor of a state whose legislators were assassinated speaks volumes.
Rather than trying to bring the people together following the tragedy as a leader might, he almost immediately issued a post on his Truth Social network calling for more violence against Democrats. It is worth reading, in its entirety, to understand the dictator’s mindset and what he continues to tell his supporters every day.
Our Nation’s ICE Officers have shown incredible strength, determination, and courage as they facilitate a very important mission, the largest Mass Deportation Operation of Illegal Aliens in History. Every day, the Brave Men and Women of ICE are subjected to violence, harassment, and even threats from Radical Democrat Politicians, but nothing will stop us from executing our mission, and fulfilling our Mandate to the American People. ICE Officers are herewith ordered, by notice of this TRUTH, to do all in their power to achieve the very important goal of delivering the single largest Mass Deportation Program in History.
In order to achieve this, we must expand efforts to detain and deport Illegal Aliens in America’s largest Cities, such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York, where Millions upon Millions of Illegal Aliens reside. These, and other such Cities, are the core of the Democrat Power Center, where they use Illegal Aliens to expand their Voter Base, cheat in Elections, and grow the Welfare State, robbing good paying Jobs and Benefits from Hardworking American Citizens. These Radical Left Democrats are sick of mind, hate our Country, and actually want to destroy our Inner Cities — And they are doing a good job of it! There is something wrong with them. That is why they believe in Open Borders, Transgender for Everybody, and Men playing in Women’s Sports — And that is why I want ICE, Border Patrol, and our Great and Patriotic Law Enforcement Officers, to FOCUS on our crime ridden and deadly Inner Cities, and those places where Sanctuary Cities play such a big role. You don’t hear about Sanctuary Cities in our Heartland!
I want our Brave ICE Officers to know that REAL Americans are cheering you on every day. The American People want our Cities, Schools, and Communities to be SAFE and FREE from Illegal Alien Crime, Conflict, and Chaos. That’s why I have directed my entire Administration to put every resource possible behind this effort, and reverse the tide of Mass Destruction Migration that has turned once Idyllic Towns into scenes of Third World Dystopia. Our Federal Government will continue to be focused on the REMIGRATION of Aliens to the places from where they came, and preventing the admission of ANYONE who undermines the domestic tranquility of the United States.
To ICE, FBI, DEA, ATF, the Patriots at Pentagon and the State Department, you have my unwavering support. Now go, GET THE JOB DONE! DJT
It isn’t necessary to interpret this screed; it speaks for itself. It suggests his political opponents are not “real Americans” and that those Democrats are destroying the economy and stealing the election. It blames the problems of the country on immigrants and demands the “largest mass deportation program in history.” It is important to remember that the Holocaust started as a mass deportation program; is that the score Trump hopes to beat?
That a middle-aged Trump supporter felt empowered and motivated to murder up to 70 people means his message is clearly getting to his followers: ‘Democrats are destroying the country; if you defend my team, pardons are on offer.’
After the international embarrassment of his failed birthday parade in Washington, DC, and reports of millions of Americans participating in the “No Kings” protests in over 2000 cities across the country, Trump is desperate to assert his power. His derangement will only get more dangerous, as will that of the 43% of Americans who still support him.
Having served as an elected representative on the progressive side of the political spectrum, I have a visceral reaction to these assassinations. People whose only crime was to hold public office in opposition to the President and his supporters had what appeared to be a police officer knock on the door and were murdered in cold blood, in the middle of the night, in their own homes.
The rhetoric offered by Pierre Poilievre and his Conservatives over the past year is eerily similar to that of Trump. Prior to Trump’s re-election, Poilievre, then on track for a majority government, made regular statements like “The radical, out-of-control NDP-Liberal government has destroyed our system” while his supporters waved black flags reading “Fuck Trudeau". That is not the message of someone offering an alternative vision for their country, but of a group that simply want to get rid of their opponents.
Rhetoric is not a simple matter of speech. It is often a call to action — and sooner or later someone will answer that call.