A university report published last month shows that more than half of those who identify as being left of center on the political spectrum believe assassinating President Donald Trump would be justified. This didn’t come about organically. It’s the product of a vicious campaign waged by the Democratic Party-mainstream media axis.
According to a Rutgers Social Perception Lab-Network Contagion Research Institute brief, 55.2% of Americans on the left “reported that if someone murdered Donald Trump, they would be at least somewhat justified.” Overall, 38.5% hold the same belief.
Trump, who has survived a pair of assassination attempts (one of which was celebrated), is not the only legitimate target, say many Americans. The data show that nearly half, 48.6%, say murdering Elon Musk would be justified.
It turns out that there has also been a shocking show of support for Luigi Mangione, who has been charged with murdering UnitedHealth Chief Executive Officer Brian Thompson. In addition, Mangione has a health care ballot initiative named after him in California.
The report’s authors say, “support for political violence – including property destruction and assassination – is not expressed in isolation, but as part of a tightly interconnected belief system.”
It’s not hard to imagine who makes up that “tightly interconnected belief system.” Reading further, we learn that there exists a pattern that “suggests a broader worldview in which violence is seen as a legitimate political response — not just a reaction to individual figures. Central to this belief system is Left-Wing Authoritarianism (LWA), characterized by moral absolutism, punitive attitudes toward ideological opponents, and a willingness to use coercion for progressive aims.”
This “broader worldview” has been crafted by Democrats and a leftist media that have whipped roughly half the country into a raging frenzy. The former, from party leaders down, have encouraged uprisings and unrest, while the latter have been telling Americans for a decade that Trump is a racist, an authoritarian, a dictator, and the direct offspring of Hitler if not his reincarnation.
It’s an effort to dehumanize him, which is a tacit approval for violent behavior. To this end, various playactors, politicians, and grifters have:
- Wanted to punch Trump in the face (Robert DeNiro)
- Wished they could “take him behind the gym and beat the hell out of him” (Joe Biden)
- Wondered when “was the last time an actor assassinated a president” (Johnny Depp)
- Asked “where is John Wilkes Booth when you need him?” (actress Carole Cook),
- Said the “donor class” is “still going to have go out and put a bullet in Donald Trump” (Rick Wilson, Lincoln Project),
- “Thought an awful lot about blowing up the White House” (Madonna)
- Felt inspired to “go and take out Trump tonight” (Rep. Maxine Waters)
- Wished publicly that “somebody would kill Donald Trump” (academic and New York Times columnist John McWhorter)
- Hoped that “maybe Donald Trump will go away. Maybe he’ll go to jail. Maybe he will die” (former Biden press secretary and current MSNBC misinformer Jen Psaki)
Say all of this and more for long enough, and tens of millions will declare their allegiance to the “assassination culture” identified in the Rutgers report.
Issues & Insights was founded by seasoned journalists of the IBD Editorials page. Our mission is to provide timely, fact-based reporting and deeply informed analysis on the news of the day – without fear or favor.
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