Some “Good” People Want Trump Gone

I’ve said some bad things about Donald Trump in the past, I’ve said some bad things about many politicians, but of course, I would never condone violence against a politician. I don’t care what side of politics they’re on, or what their opinions or views are, in a democratic and free country, Trump (and any other politician) should be allowed to publicly state their views without fear of violence. So when I heard about the assassination attempt on Donald Trump, I was literally saddened. Not because I’m a Trump fan or anything like that, but just on a human level. I was not only sad for Trump, but sad for the whole United States. This is not where democracy should lead. Everyone should be upset by this, but unfortunately, that’s not the case.

A few hours after Trump was shot, I had to attend a party. I was speaking to a guy who I’ve often spoken to before who’s a real level-headed sort of guy. He’s certainly not a lefty (probably more conservative than not), but he’s pretty much apolitical – he tends to stay out of politics. But when I asked him if he had heard what happened to Trump (he hadn’t), I told him that he was shot in the head, the first thing he asked was, “Is he dead?”. I said, “No, the bullet just grazed his ear. He’s OK.” He replied, “Darn! I was hoping he died. That was a real wasted opportunity.” I couldn’t believe it. This guy who, as I said, is normally a really reasonable guy who I’ve had many conversations with, a guy who’s never shown much interest in politics, wished Trump had died. I couldn’t believe somebody would be so insensitive to the death of another person.

But this got me thinking, obviously there’s lots of people out there who are so full of rage against Donald Trump that they wanted him to die. As I said, I’m no Trump fan, but I certainly don’t hate the guy. I actually find him quite entertaining at times, but I would never wish him dead. Obviously, when Donald Trump got attacked, it wasn’t just him being attacked, it was also his tens of millions of supporters, as well as the whole democratic process of the United States. For somebody to just gleefully wish that he had died, I just can’t relate to that, no matter what I think of Trump or his policies. It doesn’t even matter if I like the guy or not, I’m not American. It should be up to the American people to decide who their president is, not me or anybody else. If people don’t like Donald Trump, well don’t vote for him. If you don’t like Joe Biden, well don’t vote for him. But there’s simply no place for political violence in a democracy, and if you think there should be, then you may as well go live in some sort of tinpot dictatorship where anything goes, because that’s essentially what you’re endorsing if you’re endorsing the murder of a former president and presidential candidate.

You don’t have to look very far to find people who are upset by the survival of Donald Trump. Dr Karen Pinder, who has since deleted her entire account, wrote, “Damn, so close. Too bad. What a glorious day this could have been!” An actual doctor who is apparently in the business of saving people wishes a former president dead.

Remember when Joe Biden said, “You have Trump and his MAGA supporters not only embrace political violence, but they laugh about it.”

Remember when American comedian Kathy Griffin held up a bloodied fake head of Donald Trump?

What about the BBC presenter who called for Trump to be murdered by Biden on the basis that he is a threat to America’s security? Of course, that post has since been deleted with the presenter claiming it was “satire”. It it was satire, keep it up. Why delete it?

I could go on, but you get the idea. These people aren’t defenders of democracy. They’re the opposite. If people don’t agree with their views, they want them dead, even if it’s just in a tongue-in-cheek way.

Of course, there was talk about the Secret Service’s diversity, equity and inclusion policies after video from the attack shows several female agents who were not large enough to cover Trump’s body huddle to protect him from fire, leaving Trump exposed. There was footage of another agent fumbling with her pistol, incapable of finding her holster, as well as another agent who appeared uncertain about what to do. DEI is one thing when it comes to casting of TV commercials, but when it comes to the Secret Service where actual lives are on the line, then obviously, this experiment of DEI needs to end.

Anyway, as I said, I don’t wish harm on any politician or political candidate. I wish Trump well, and I also wish Biden well. It’s not up to me, or a would-be assassin, who gets elected. It’s up to the American people at the voting booth, the way it should be. And those who don’t like this process, those who wish physical harm on their political opponents, well, clearly, they don’t like democracy.

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Allégro by Emmit Fenn