Donald Trump’s violent rhetoric escalated today with a call for his supporters to assassinate Hillary Clinton and her Supreme Court nominees – an unacceptable and dangerous new low for the Republican candidate.
“Hillary wants to abolish, essentially abolish the Second Amendment,” Trump said in a North Carolina rally. “By the way, and if she gets to pick — if she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I dunno.”
Trump’s statement was immediately met with backlash from liberals and even many conservatives, who agreed that making comments – even jokes – encouraging the assassination of a political opponent is absolutely inappropriate.
Congressional Democrats such as Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy responded on Twitter:
.@realDonaldTrump makes death threats because he's a pathetic coward who can’t handle the fact that he’s losing to a girl.
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) August 9, 2016
Your reckless comments sound like a two-bit dictator, @realDonaldTrump. Not a man who wants to lead the greatest democracy on the planet.
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) August 9, 2016
This isn't play. Unstable people with powerful guns and an unhinged hatred for Hillary are listening to you, @realDonaldTrump.
— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) August 9, 2016
Don't treat this as a political misstep. It's an assassination threat, seriously upping the possibility of a national tragedy & crisis.
— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) August 9, 2016
Hundreds of journalists, intellectuals and political analysts also voiced their concern and disgust on Twitter:
A major party nominee suggesting, jokingly or not, that people assassinate their opposing candidate is not funny. It's terrifying.
— Emily C. Singer (@CahnEmily) August 9, 2016
Good God. Trump is encouraging his supporters to shoot either Hillary or the judges she may choose https://t.co/Vf7ceg42wR
— Liddle’ Reza Aslan (@rezaaslan) August 9, 2016
http://twitter.com/goldietaylor/status/763102078629711877
From context, it's also possible that Trump was floating idea of armed rebellion against bad SCOTUS decisions, not assassination.
— Philip Klein (@philipaklein) August 9, 2016
http://twitter.com/justinjm1/status/763099783364014080
Many saw Trump’s comments as an extension of his recent “rigged election” talk:
So Trump now moving on from suggesting Clinton stealing election to suggesting supporters assassinate her?
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) August 9, 2016
http://twitter.com/CBCFletch/status/763093364015296512
Many – including Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) – have also called for a Secret Service investigation. A former Secret Service official told TIME today that Trump “is coming pretty close to the edge here.”
Donald Trump suggested someone kill Sec. Clinton. We must take people at their word. @SecretService must investigate #TrumpThreat.
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) August 9, 2016
Trump becomes the first person with Secret Service protection to be investigated by the Secret Service. https://t.co/4hUti5Nq9D
— Radley Balko (@radleybalko) August 9, 2016
Has Secret Service ever had to open investigation of one of its own protectees? https://t.co/JXApFEGQXA
— Mike Memoli (@mikememoli) August 9, 2016
http://twitter.com/williamfleitch/status/763095609112981505
Even former NSA and CIA Director Michael Hayden – who said in February that “American armed forces would refuse to act” if Trump ordered them to carry out his proposal of murdering the innocent family members of terrorists – denounced Trump’s assassination comment, calling the Republican nominee “a clear and present danger.”
“If someone else had said that outside the hall, he’d be in the back of a police wagon now with the Secret Service questioning him.
If Trump governs in any way close to the language that he’s has used in the campaign, I fear for our future.”
Nonetheless, some die-hard Trump supporters have dismissed his extremism with the “it’s just a joke” defense. Lawyer and professor Jason P. Steed explained why this is no excuse:
“You’re never ‘just joking.’ Nobody is ever ‘just joking.’ Humor is a social act that performs a social function (always).
We use humor to bring people into – or keep them out of – our social groups. This is what humor does. What it’s for. Consequently, how we use humor is tied up with ethics – who do we embrace, who do we shun, and how/why? And the assimilating/alienating function of humor works not only only people but also on ideas. This is important. This is why, e.g., racist ‘jokes’ are bad. Not just because they serve to alienate certain people, but also because they serve to assimilate the idea of racism (the idea of alienating people based on their race).
And so, we come to Trump.
A racist joke sends a message to the in-group that racism is acceptable. (If you don’t find it acceptable, you’re in the out-group.) The racist joke teller might say ‘just joking’ – but this is a defense to the out-group. He doesn’t have to say this to the in-group. This is why we’re never ‘just joking.’ To the in-group, no defense of the joke is needed; the idea conveyed is accepted/acceptable. So, when Trump jokes about assassination or armed revolt, he’s asking the in-group to assimilate/accept that idea. That’s what jokes do. And when he says ‘just joking,’ that’s a defense offered to the out-group who was never meant to assimilate the idea in the first place. Indeed, circling back to the start, the joke itself is a way to define in-group and out-group, through assimilation & alienation.
If you’re willing to accept ‘just joking’ as defense, you’re willing to enter in-group where idea conveyed by the joke is acceptable.
In other words, if ‘just joking’ excuses racist jokes, then in-group has accepted idea of racism as part of being in-group. Same goes for ‘jokes’ about armed revolt or assassinating Hillary Clinton. They cannot be accepted as ‘just joking.’”
This isn’t the first instance of violent rhetoric against Hillary Clinton from the Trump campaign. Trump advisor Al Baldasaro said last month that “Hillary Clinton should be put in the firing line and shot for treason,” while Trump confidante and former advisor Roger Stone tweeted:
http://twitter.com/RogerJStoneJr/status/487392243402031104
Neither Baldasaro nor Stone apologized for their violent comments, and the Trump campaign made no efforts to denounce them. Stone has also said that there will be a “bloodbath” if Trump loses the election. “We will not stand for it,” he told Breitbart.
Trump will say he wants 2nd amendment advocates to convince Senate to block Clinton pick. Keep in mind his advisor called for her to be shot
— Sam Stein (@samstein) August 9, 2016
And now, Donald Trump himself is encouraging the assassination of Hillary Clinton and her Supreme Court nominees.
MSNBC’s Benjy Sarlin correctly predicted how the Trump campaign would respond, which is in line with their previous spins on Trump’s inaccurate, misleading, and/or extreme comments – don’t apologize, claim that he meant something else, then blame the establishment, liberals, the media, or a combination of the three.
http://twitter.com/BenjySarlin/status/763092639570952192
And in no time, Trump’s campaign made that exact spin:
Trump response: It's the dishonest media! pic.twitter.com/AQqpQnYpjH
— Victoria McGrane (@vgmac) August 9, 2016
The Trump campaign was immediately criticized for its nonsensical response, which, by refusing to denounce violence against Hillary Clinton, enables his “joke” to be taken at face-value by his supporters.
http://twitter.com/jonswaine/status/763110818988888065
Why can't Trump say: 'I misspoke. I didn't mean how it sounded. I meant we should all unite to defeat Hillary Clinton.' Might do wonders…
— Byron York (@ByronYork) August 9, 2016
http://twitter.com/amandacarpenter/status/763108741348679680
http://twitter.com/amandacarpenter/status/763113161151029249
Trump spin says he meant 2nd Amendmenters could stop Clinton's election.
His comment was about stopping nominees she’d have after election
— Sam Stein (@samstein) August 9, 2016
The timeline of Trump’s excuse is way off. He said “if Clinton gets to pick” meaning after she’s elected. Not 2A voters voting against her.
— Christina Wilkie (@christinawilkie) August 9, 2016
The Hillary Clinton campaign also responded. “What Trump is saying is dangerous,” wrote Hillary for America Campaign Manager Robby Mook. “A person seeking to be the President of the United States should not suggest violence in any way.”
