Ever since Charlie Kirk's shooting, I continue to hear about all of the violent rhetoric from the left that is causing the violence. I have to say that I have no idea what violent rhetoric they are talking about. I do know that the Democrats are not going to tell Trump how great he is because they don’t believe that Trump is great, and neither do I. I know that no sane Democrat is going to think of Trump as the second coming of Christ. So, I decided to take a look at all the political rhetoric, as much as I could find, and share my opinion on it.

In researching the Democrat rhetoric, the first thing that pops up is a conversation Biden had with a group of donors on a phone call. Biden reportedly said that it was “time to put Trump in the bulls-eye”. First, I will say that it was during a private phone call and not during a speech or rally. Not the greatest choice of words, but not what I would say was violent rhetoric to try to manipulate the public. He was using it as a reference to his donors that they needed to concentrate on defeating Trump. Democratic Dan Goldman said in 2024 that Trump was “dangerous” and “he has to be eliminated”. Again, not the greatest choice of words, and it is not something a congressman should have said. He, of course, apologized for the comment. It would have been much more appropriate for him to say, “Trump is dangerous and needs to be defeated.” It has been reported that some Democratic activists and younger leaders have used the words “fight” or “destroy,”  which some are claiming is incendiary language. In today's day of trash talk, I see more incendiary language by pickleball players. My kids talk to me like that while we are playing cribbage. That talk is very mild, and when you are trying to motivate young voters, I think at times the talk is going to be more like a coach talking to his football team while preparing for the big game.  I can’t help but think the Republicans are reaching for anything to reduce the Democrats to a violent mob, which I have never seen. People will say that calling the Republicans Fascists and saying that they are destroying Democracy is inflammatory political rhetoric. I would say they would be correct if it weren’t for the fact that what the Republicans are doing is right out of the Fascists' playbook, but yes, it is inflammatory speech. The only people who would consider that rhetoric are those who have never studied history or choose to ignore history. I truly believe that unless we begin to fight back harder by telling the truth, our democracy will be lost.

 I really couldn’t find a lot of political rhetoric from Democrats, so now let's look at the Republicans. Going back to 2016, Trump encouraged supporters to attack protestors, saying that he would “pay their legal bills.” He stated that he’d like to punch a protester in the face. He warned of “riots” if he was denied the GOP nomination. He also commented to the “Second Amendment People” about stopping Hillary Clinton. Even before he lost the 2020 election, he refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power. During a debate, he told the Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by.” In March of 2024, he warned of a “bloodbath for the country” if he was not reelected. He used populist framing like “us vs. them” language targeting immigrants, elites, and political opponents. He emphasized identity politics and cultural conflict over economic policy. To Trump, anyone who does not agree with him, whether it is a Democrat or a Republican, they are an enemy of the people. He went after Liz Cheney, who had been a strong and faithful Republican all her life and had come from a family that at one time was considered Republican royalty. Because she put her country and her oath of office before any loyalty to Trump, she was kicked out of the Trump party and was even threatened with prosecution. I will say that again. She was kicked out of the Republican Party for loving her country instead of Trump.

We can’t forget to talk about videos, memes, and symbolic violence that were posted by Trump. He often posted himself, wielding weapons or dominating opponents. Some were references to Civil War, executions, or retribution. Mocking or threatening political rivals, both Republican and Democrat, as enemies. He attacked the journalists as also enemies of the people.  He retweeted a video of him body slamming CNN. A spoof video was shown at Mar-a-Lago depicting Trump executing political opponents. We can’t forget about the meme that Trump posted showing Biden tied up in the back of a pickup truck. On social media, you see memes that are pretty controversial and insulting to both parties, but I have never seen one by a Democratic politician depicting Trump the way he depicts his opponents

Trump's staff is just as bad as Trump. As the Democrats, after the Kirk killing, were condemning the violence, Steven Miller was spouting violent rhetoric against the Democrats. After the Kirk shooting, he went on television stating that left-leaning nonprofits and activists had created “terrorist networks” that were responsible for the shooting. He threatened, “We will find you, take away your money, take away your power, and if you have broken the law, take away your freedom. I am sorry, but that is going full-blown fascist, and he is trying to make the Democrats the victims, just like the Jews were the victims of Nazi Germany. You can say that I am taking that too far, but I don’t think that I am. Charlie Kirk was shot by a young man from a conservative Mormon family who was big Trump supporters. Miller lied to the American people to try to demonize a section of the American public without a shred of proof.

Violent rhetoric is a real thing in America. It has desensitized the public to threats and aggression. They have legitimized mob fantasies and undermined peaceful political discourse. The FBI and DHS have warned that Trump’s rhetoric will contribute to domestic extremism. Threats against election workers, journalists, and lawmakers have surged since 2020, and that is on Trump. The line between political speech and incitement, some say, has been blurred. After I watched the Trump-incited mob attack the Capitol on January, 6^th 2021, I have to say that it is more than blurred. Trump continues to use the same rhetoric that they claim the Democrats use to promote violence. If calling Trump a fascist is promoting political violence, so is calling someone a communist. Even after the Charlie Kirk shooting, Trump is calling the Democratic candidate for the Mayor of New York City a communist. Trump stated on Fox News that “I call him my little communist. He’s my little communist mayor.”

After Charlie Kirk was shot, they said the Democrats were celebrating. I saw none of that. In fact, I saw just the opposite. I saw a call for the violence to stop. I saw a call for commonsense gun control. I heard a call to quiet down all the rhetoric. That is something the Republicans never do. When Paul Pelosi, the husband of Nancy Pelosi, was bludgeoned, we saw people making fun of the attack. I even saw Trump make fun of the attack. Minnesota Democrat State Senator John Hoffman was shot nine times during an assassination attempt at his home, but survived; his wife was shot eight times. Minnesota House Speaker Emerita Mellissa Hortman and her husband Mark Hartman were shot and killed in their own home by the same shooter. The White House was silent. In fact, the silence from most of the Republican Party was appalling. No call for peace. No call from the President at all. Charlie Kirk gets shot, but what appears as one of their own, and the Republicans are working their butts off to try and spin this to demonize half of the nation and throw every Democrat in jail.