DONALD TRUMP AND GEORGE WALLACE: PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES THAT CONDONE VIOLENCE

…Violence at a Trump rally

 

As expected, Trumps protestors are now disrupting his rally’s with violence.

 

Ruth Marcus, Kathleen Parker, George Will, Dana Milbank, and seven top Republicans, what do all these individuals have in common?  Well, on the same day, every one of these, (more than half of them conservatives), they all said, each in their own words that Donald Trump is a volatile, race-baiting candidate who is not fit for the presidency.

 

Now this candidate that has encouraged his supporters to deal with all verbal protesters with his comments like, “punch him in the face.” Or, “In the good ol’ days, they’d rip them out of their seats so fast.” Or, “Knock the crap out of him, would you? Seriously, Okay just knock the hell. I promise you I will pay for the legal fees, I promise, I promise.”

 

Yes, these comments were all coming from Donald Trump’s mouth, the candidate that still says he really does know how to “act presidential”.

 

But Trump being Trump, the presidential urge can never proceed very far before being overtaken by his real self: The bullying thug and Trump the self-pitying victim.

 

It has become obvious that at some point, those that protest Trump would start showing up and disrupting his rally’s. 

 

Initially he responded with comments like, “Go home to mommy,” as he told one protester in Missouri. “Get a job,” he told another. “These people are bringing us down, remember that,” he told the crowd. Calling them “These people”. Now that really sounds “presidential”.  Donald, if (God forbid) you win, you will be “these people’s” president as well.

 

Trump has taken zero responsibility for inciting anger with his divisive rhetoric aimed at the demonstrators, nor for the violence it has incited among his supporters. He is only sorry that the protesters had to be treated so nicely. “They’re being “politically correct” the way they take them out [of his rally’s],” he said. “There used to be consequences for protesting.”

 

I wonder, is Trump reference to “consequence” his thinking about the beatings of the protestors against discrimination in the Southern states in the 1960’s?  Hmmmm.

 

The reality is that the protesters have a right to be heard, but it should be in an appropriate place and manner. Hecklers are a fact of political life, yet no candidate should have to contend with a campaign event so constantly disrupted that the candidate cannot share his or her own message. The scene of Secret Service agents swarming around Trump after a protester broke through the security barrier at a rally in Ohio was an unsettling reminder of the potential for terrible tragedy.

 

But truthfully, even though interrupting the candidate’s events is wrong, the candidates have a responsibility for the basis of their rhetoric and for the way they respond to any protestors.  Instead of encouraging his supporters to respond with class, Trump says things that are hurtful and divisive.  He then becomes surprised when his language provokes a negative reaction.  Trump sees freedom of speech as a one-way street for Trump’s freedom to speak, and he goes after those who would dare to disagree and interrupt him.

 

“The organized group of people, many of them thugs, who shut down our First Amendment rights in Chicago, have totally energized America!” tweeted this same man who recently vowed to “open up” the libel laws so he could sue his own critics in the media.

 

Trump responded to CNN’s Jake Tapper on a video of a Trump supporter punching a protester in the face.  “People come with tremendous passion and love for their country, and when they see protest — you know, you’re mentioning one case, which I haven’t seen, I heard about it which I don’t like. But when they see what’s going on in this country, they have anger that’s unbelievable. They have anger. They love this country. They don’t like seeing bad trade deals, they don’t like seeing higher taxes, they don’t like seeing a loss of their jobs where our jobs have just been devastated. . . . There is some anger. There’s also great love for the country. It’s a beautiful thing in many respects. But I certainly do not condone that [violence] at all, Jake.”

 

Trump has now accepted the endorsement of Ben Carson, a man he once described as “pathological” and Trump likened him to a “child molester,” Trump then reaffirmed his inclination to meet violence with violence, citing the example of a protester who was “swinging” at the audience.  “And the audience hit back,” Trump said, approvingly. “And that’s what we need a little bit more of.”

 

Sorry Donald, but that sure sounds like “condoning and encouraging violence” to me.

 

This is the candidate who calls other candidates “liars”, but Trump just makes things up and never takes responsibility for his own fibs or exaggerations.

 

And this just begs the question, “Who’s the one that’s seriously acting “pathological”? 

 

Mr. Trump just needs to look into a mirror for that answer.

 

Copyright G.Ater  2016