Donald Trump Jr. on “Fox & Friends” this morning (quoted from CNN; read story here):
Brian Kilmeade: And so now we’re getting to sprint towards November for — to — to see if your dad can get four more years. Are you surprised the way they’ve been handling the coronavirus situation, meaning Democrats?
Don Jr.: … for them to try to take a pandemic and seemingly hope that it comes here, and kills millions of people so that they could end Donald Trump’s streak of winning, is a new level of sickness. You know, I don’t know if this is coronavirus or Trump derangement syndrome, but these people are infected badly.
And then Mike Pence, responding to criticism, called it a “justified” response to Democrats’ criticism of Trump’s false statements about, and tepid response to, the coronavirus outbreak. (Read that story here.)
CNN called Don Jr.’s remarks “deeply irresponsible.” It’s that and more. It’s not only profoundly dishonest, but invites political violence. Such talk could provoke a deranged Trump supporter to toss his AR-15 and a couple thousand rounds of ammo into a car trunk, then go hunting for “Democrats.” Remember Comet Pizza? It’s sheer luck that no one was killed there.
This is so wrong on so many levels. It’s even worse than yelling “Fire!” in a crowded theater. It’s reminiscent of the hate speech Hitler used to inflame the German people against Jews, leading to the murder of millions. Hitler didn’t kill them; his followers did it for him. But he bears the principal responsibility, because words is all it takes to start a firestorm.This is no different in its effects. I’m not equating anyone with Hitler; the latter’s evil was unique in its breadth and depth. Donnie Jr. isn’t necessarily evil; he’s mostly just a dumb kid who grovels to his demagogue father, and is too stupid to know better.
But Fox has no excuse. They do know better. Deliberately putting a village idiot on TV to spread hate speech is indefensible. There’s no way Brian Kilmeade didn’t know what Donnie Dumbass was going to say. Kilmeade solicited that response, and knew he would get it.
With this stunt, Kilmeade forfeited any standing he has as a journalist, and Fox once again demonstrated it’s not a real news organization. Any reputable journalist or real news organization would immediately shut down an interview when the interviewee started talking like this.
It’s also absurd — and irresponsible — for the vice president of the United States to assert that wildly false and inflammatory rhetoric that has a significant potential to provoke political violence is a “justified” answer to legitimate criticism of the party in power by the opposition party. Responding to such criticism in this manner not only is childish, unseemingly, and beneath the dignity of Pence’s office, but is yet another an assault on our democratic principles. It is also indicative that the moral and intellectual rot fostered by Trump, due to his moral failings, pervades his administration and party.
The remedy for this is to vote Trump and Pence, and any Republicans who support and enable them, out of office in November. That will be a necessary beginning to restoring our democratic system of government to a healthy status. There is a strong need for two competitive parties in our political system; when political competition is functioning properly, it brings forth the best ideas and wrings incompetence and corruption out of the system. We must hope that after the Trump disease has run its course, the GOP will rebuild itself into a party capable of playing a constructive role in our nation’s political life.
Photo: Donnie Trump Jr. proudly showing off an AR-15, a weapon often used in mass shootings, and associated with rightwing threats of civil war.
So Democrats are ging to receive blankets from the government?
Chief Sealth is laughing in his grave.