Jonathan Chait: “In an interview with CBS following the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, Trump blamed the most recent attempt on his life on ‘the hate speech of the Democrats,’ which he called ‘very dangerous.’ …
“Yesterday, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt charged, ‘Those who constantly falsely label and slander the president as a fascist, as a threat to democracy, and compare him to Hitler to score political points are fueling this kind of violence.’
“This claim suffers three serious defects. First, it assumes that violence is the only logical response to an attempt to undermine democracy. In reality, Trump’s assault on democratic norms can be—and in fact, is being—successfully resisted through democratic means. In Hungary, Viktor Orbán had carried out a more advanced version of the same power-consolidation strategy that Trump is attempting now, and voters defeated him through peaceful organizing.
“The second problem with a moratorium on calling your opponents authoritarian is that Trump himself routinely violates it. The president has spent a decade calling his rivals communists and traitors, among other hyperbolic insults. He has specifically claimed that Democrats rig elections as a matter of course. Taking violent steps to stop undemocratic political leaders follows much more closely from Trump’s rhetoric than from anything Democrats have said about him.
“And third, the conservative principle would seem to rule out any criticism of authoritarian tendencies, however real they may be. If calling a politician an aspiring authoritarian is tantamount to inciting their murder, then doing so is irresponsible even if the charge is true. Republicans could nominate the reanimated corpse of Benito Mussolini for president, and Democrats couldn’t question his commitment to democracy without being accused of ginning up violence.”
It is in fact a call for peace, given that this bloodthirsty tyrant has done nothing but wage war on the world for the past year, both financially and literally. The republican party inaction to address this is a danger to America itself and a threat to the democratic world.
If America does not stand up against Trump, I am fairly certain he will go to any lengths to “win” Iran at any cost to Americans, including putting a million boots on the ground.
HDRsoul on
The withering insecurity of these people is borne by the fact that on some subconscious level they know just how illegitimate and mendacious this administration is.
>The post was a re-share from an account called “The SCIF,” which captioned, “Hillary Clinton funded, approved, and created Steele Dossier, Barack Obama called the shots, and Brennan’s CIA did the dirty work. The evidence is clear, TREASON was committed, and now they must pay or they will do it again.”
Apparently, a significant portion of the country loves them a tyrant. It’s a term of endearment.
OrangeTwitler on
The chief instigator of violence in this country is the fascist, rapist, con-man, and felon in the Oval Office.
Violence and criminality baked into his genes.
IUsedToBeThatGuy42 on
Saying that trump is a fascist isn’t inherently saying that somebody should do something to him, it’s just a statement of fact.
IrreverentBuddha on
The flag of Virginia begs to differ.
PotentialDocument447 on
He’s a tyrant.
1cl3nstd4yt on
Well we put him in charge of the DOJ and Supreme Court, as well as Congress.
A ‘Call to Violence’ is pretty much whatever Trump says it is.
Nice going, voters. I bet _now_ you wish you had milquetoast instead.
Knowledge_Moist on
Trump has called the (global)left:
-The Enemy within
-The enemy of the people
– Scum
– Terrorists
– Vermins
– Low IQ
– Thugs
– Radicals
– Lunatics
– Demonic
– Evil
– Fascists
– Marxists
– Communists
– Garbage
– Treasonous
– Animals
– Degenerates
– Jew haters
– Lowlives
But somehow it is the left with the violent rhetoric.
The most annoying thing is that the media barely even try to call out this hypocrisy.
Every time MAGA talks about the “violent” online left, journalists should bring up Trump’s own quotes.
BlondeBorednBaked on
I noticed on MSNOW yesterday they repeatedly said that “both sides” need to “tone down the rhetoric.” It made me angry because democrats did not create this environment. Trump and republicans did. It feels like gaslighting to have a violent leader in charge who uses lynch mobs and the feds to inflict harm on Americans but then be told that *democrats* need to tone down *our* rhetoric. Living in this country is like being in an abusive environment. We get hit and when we speak up for ourselves we get accused of being incendiary.
Signal_Minimum8509 on
This is true.
AND ALSO, I can’t say I really care about the crocodile tears from people who still won’t acknowledge what, “you have to fight like hell or you won’t have a country anymore,” really meant and what happened immediately after.
Zaius1968 on
Nor is saying 86-47…
No-Needleworker908 on
Please help me remember…who was the guy who asked for the Second Amendment people to help out with Hillary? Like that wasn’t an incitement to violence?!
BigPlunk on
Tyrant-o-saurus can take his tiny little purple hands, delicate ego, and flagrant hypocrisy and stomp his sloshing, fascist feet back to Epstein Island.
LowAssistantInfinity on
Sic semper tyrannis *in Minecraft*.
GuitarGeezer on
Could we arrest the guy who called Trump a dictator? His name was Donald J something. “I will be a dictator”. Some goobers were bitching about people using the word about him and were really annoyed when I pointed out he was the source. The call from the mad dog is always coming from inside the house with Trump.
monkeywithgun on
Well if that’s not a call to violence, what about when he said
>He has turned calm into chaos, competence into incompetence, stability into anarchy and security into catastrophe
>He’s against God
>With every decision, he twisted a knife into the hands and hearts of the American worker
>He is just a Trojan Horse
>He pretends to have the answers. He doesn’t even know the questions. Weakness will never beat anarchists, looters or thugs, and he has been politically weak all of his life
>If you look at the words and meaning of the awkward and angry speech tonight, he threatened America, including with the possible use of military force. He must be insane, or suffering from late-stage dementia!
>He’s walking around somewhat bewildered, and taking orders from the Easter Bunny
>He’s an enemy of the state. You want to know the truth. The enemy of the state is him.
>He represents an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic
>His speech was the most vicious, hateful and divisive speech ever delivered by an American president
>There can be no more vivid example of the very real threats from American freedom than just a few weeks ago, you saw, when we witnessed one of the most shocking abuses of power by any administration in American history
>Guilty of treason, retweet if you want televised military tribunals
>Look, he’s guilty. It’s not a question. This was treason. This was every word you can think of. They tried to steal the election. They tried to obfuscate the election.
Oh wait, these are all things Trump ~~said about~~ projected at President Biden, and Obama with that last one…
tom_snout on
8647!
ToadP on
The people spreading the most vicious hate and Rederick are the thinnest skinned babies. I can call you a communist and a liberal socialist baby killer but you you called me a tyrant, a rapist, a dictator, or the worst a KING. Yeah lighten up Francis and stop being an A-Hole.
PotPumper43 on
Governing as a tyrant is the call to violence.
faith_apnea on
No one with a brain needs this message.
The cult needs the help waking up and smelling the coffee.
KinkyPaddling on
Stating facts isn’t a call to violence. If Republicans don’t like hearing that Trump is a tyrant, then maybe they can try not enabling tyranny.
Wonderful_Try_154 on
He definitely is a tyrant along with 98% of our government.
King_R0A on
Maybe tyrants should not act like tyrants if they don’t want to be referred as such.
I_like_Mashroms on
The guy who called his predecessor a fraud for ‘”being from Kenya” and literally talked 1000+ people into attempting a violent coup on his behalf?
In a fair and just world we would get to see him face a traitors fate.
27 Comments
Jonathan Chait: “In an interview with CBS following the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, Trump blamed the most recent attempt on his life on ‘the hate speech of the Democrats,’ which he called ‘very dangerous.’ …
“Yesterday, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt charged, ‘Those who constantly falsely label and slander the president as a fascist, as a threat to democracy, and compare him to Hitler to score political points are fueling this kind of violence.’
“This claim suffers three serious defects. First, it assumes that violence is the only logical response to an attempt to undermine democracy. In reality, Trump’s assault on democratic norms can be—and in fact, is being—successfully resisted through democratic means. In Hungary, Viktor Orbán had carried out a more advanced version of the same power-consolidation strategy that Trump is attempting now, and voters defeated him through peaceful organizing.
“The second problem with a moratorium on calling your opponents authoritarian is that Trump himself routinely violates it. The president has spent a decade calling his rivals communists and traitors, among other hyperbolic insults. He has specifically claimed that Democrats rig elections as a matter of course. Taking violent steps to stop undemocratic political leaders follows much more closely from Trump’s rhetoric than from anything Democrats have said about him.
“And third, the conservative principle would seem to rule out any criticism of authoritarian tendencies, however real they may be. If calling a politician an aspiring authoritarian is tantamount to inciting their murder, then doing so is irresponsible even if the charge is true. Republicans could nominate the reanimated corpse of Benito Mussolini for president, and Democrats couldn’t question his commitment to democracy without being accused of ginning up violence.”
Read more: [https://theatln.tc/Gt81gzNj](https://theatln.tc/Gt81gzNj)
It is in fact a call for peace, given that this bloodthirsty tyrant has done nothing but wage war on the world for the past year, both financially and literally. The republican party inaction to address this is a danger to America itself and a threat to the democratic world.
If America does not stand up against Trump, I am fairly certain he will go to any lengths to “win” Iran at any cost to Americans, including putting a million boots on the ground.
The withering insecurity of these people is borne by the fact that on some subconscious level they know just how illegitimate and mendacious this administration is.
>[Trump](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/donald-trump-paul-pelosi-hammer-attack-b2421604.html) mocks Paul Pelosi in speech months after ex-Speaker’s husband was injured in hammer attack
>‘I will stand up to crazy Nancy Pelosi who ruined San Francisco… How’s her husband doing by the way?’ Trump says
–
>[Trump](https://thegrio.com/2026/04/24/trump-calls-to-arrest-barack-obama-accuses-him-of-treason/) resurrects calls to arrest Barack Obama, accuses him and others of ‘treason’ in late-night posts
>The post was a re-share from an account called “The SCIF,” which captioned, “Hillary Clinton funded, approved, and created Steele Dossier, Barack Obama called the shots, and Brennan’s CIA did the dirty work. The evidence is clear, TREASON was committed, and now they must pay or they will do it again.”
–
>[Trump](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/trump-democrats-death-penalty-sedition-military-orders-rcna245003) accuses Democrats of ‘seditious behavior, punishable by death,’ for urging military to ignore illegal orders
–
>[Trump](https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/03/21/trump-responds-robert-mueller-death/89263401007/) reacted to Mueller’s passing in a March 21 post on Truth Social that said: “Robert Mueller just died. Good, I’m glad he’s dead. He can no longer hurt innocent people! President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
Apparently, a significant portion of the country loves them a tyrant. It’s a term of endearment.
The chief instigator of violence in this country is the fascist, rapist, con-man, and felon in the Oval Office.
Violence and criminality baked into his genes.
Saying that trump is a fascist isn’t inherently saying that somebody should do something to him, it’s just a statement of fact.
The flag of Virginia begs to differ.
He’s a tyrant.
Well we put him in charge of the DOJ and Supreme Court, as well as Congress.
A ‘Call to Violence’ is pretty much whatever Trump says it is.
Nice going, voters. I bet _now_ you wish you had milquetoast instead.
Trump has called the (global)left:
-The Enemy within
-The enemy of the people
– Scum
– Terrorists
– Vermins
– Low IQ
– Thugs
– Radicals
– Lunatics
– Demonic
– Evil
– Fascists
– Marxists
– Communists
– Garbage
– Treasonous
– Animals
– Degenerates
– Jew haters
– Lowlives
But somehow it is the left with the violent rhetoric.
The most annoying thing is that the media barely even try to call out this hypocrisy.
Every time MAGA talks about the “violent” online left, journalists should bring up Trump’s own quotes.
I noticed on MSNOW yesterday they repeatedly said that “both sides” need to “tone down the rhetoric.” It made me angry because democrats did not create this environment. Trump and republicans did. It feels like gaslighting to have a violent leader in charge who uses lynch mobs and the feds to inflict harm on Americans but then be told that *democrats* need to tone down *our* rhetoric. Living in this country is like being in an abusive environment. We get hit and when we speak up for ourselves we get accused of being incendiary.
This is true.
AND ALSO, I can’t say I really care about the crocodile tears from people who still won’t acknowledge what, “you have to fight like hell or you won’t have a country anymore,” really meant and what happened immediately after.
Nor is saying 86-47…
Please help me remember…who was the guy who asked for the Second Amendment people to help out with Hillary? Like that wasn’t an incitement to violence?!
Tyrant-o-saurus can take his tiny little purple hands, delicate ego, and flagrant hypocrisy and stomp his sloshing, fascist feet back to Epstein Island.
Sic semper tyrannis *in Minecraft*.
Could we arrest the guy who called Trump a dictator? His name was Donald J something. “I will be a dictator”. Some goobers were bitching about people using the word about him and were really annoyed when I pointed out he was the source. The call from the mad dog is always coming from inside the house with Trump.
Well if that’s not a call to violence, what about when he said
>He has turned calm into chaos, competence into incompetence, stability into anarchy and security into catastrophe
>He’s against God
>With every decision, he twisted a knife into the hands and hearts of the American worker
>He is just a Trojan Horse
>He pretends to have the answers. He doesn’t even know the questions. Weakness will never beat anarchists, looters or thugs, and he has been politically weak all of his life
>If you look at the words and meaning of the awkward and angry speech tonight, he threatened America, including with the possible use of military force. He must be insane, or suffering from late-stage dementia!
>He’s walking around somewhat bewildered, and taking orders from the Easter Bunny
>He’s an enemy of the state. You want to know the truth. The enemy of the state is him.
>He represents an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic
>His speech was the most vicious, hateful and divisive speech ever delivered by an American president
>There can be no more vivid example of the very real threats from American freedom than just a few weeks ago, you saw, when we witnessed one of the most shocking abuses of power by any administration in American history
>Guilty of treason, retweet if you want televised military tribunals
>Look, he’s guilty. It’s not a question. This was treason. This was every word you can think of. They tried to steal the election. They tried to obfuscate the election.
Oh wait, these are all things Trump ~~said about~~ projected at President Biden, and Obama with that last one…
8647!
The people spreading the most vicious hate and Rederick are the thinnest skinned babies. I can call you a communist and a liberal socialist baby killer but you you called me a tyrant, a rapist, a dictator, or the worst a KING. Yeah lighten up Francis and stop being an A-Hole.
Governing as a tyrant is the call to violence.
No one with a brain needs this message.
The cult needs the help waking up and smelling the coffee.
Stating facts isn’t a call to violence. If Republicans don’t like hearing that Trump is a tyrant, then maybe they can try not enabling tyranny.
He definitely is a tyrant along with 98% of our government.
Maybe tyrants should not act like tyrants if they don’t want to be referred as such.
The guy who called his predecessor a fraud for ‘”being from Kenya” and literally talked 1000+ people into attempting a violent coup on his behalf?
In a fair and just world we would get to see him face a traitors fate.