Two days after the second attempted assassination of President Trump, MSNBC‘s Joy Ann Reid declared that he and his campaign were gaslighting the American people by calling out and placing blame on Harris and the Democrats for their violent and inflammatory rhetoric.
She said, “We begin tonight with a visit to the upside down because it is only there that Donald Trump may be able to get away with attempting to lay the blame for the violent state of our politics at the feet of Vice President Kamala Harris and the Democrats. If Merriam-Webster was looking for a new example to help define the term gaslighting, they should look no further than Trump’s claim that the latest apparent assassination attempt against him is a direct result of the, quote, ‘highly inflammatory language from the other side.’ And following that claim in his next breath, he goes on to use that same inflammatory language against them, saying, quote, ‘These are people that want to destroy our country. It is called the enemy from within. They are the real threat.’ It is as if Trump believes we all have a collective case of amnesia from, well, his entire lifetime of using that rhetoric against anyone and everyone who looks at him the wrong way.”
Reid suspiciously ignored the detailed and lengthy list of examples the Trump campaign shared, citing dozens of examples of Democrat politicians, pundits, staffers and activists likening him to Hitler, characterizing him and his followers as “threats to democracy” and insisting that they shouldn’t be tolerated in any capacity.
She continued.
“At the New York Times, Peter Baker writes, ‘Trump is at the heart of today’s eruption of political violence’ reminding readers that he has long favored the language of violence in his political discourse, encouraging supporters to beat up hecklers, threatening to shoot looters and undocumented migrants, mocking a near-fatal attack on the husband of the Democratic House Speaker and suggesting that a general that he deemed disloyal should be executed.”
In 2017, Kathy Griffin posed with a graphic replica of what was supposed to depict Trump’s bloodied, decapitated head. In the summer of 2020 following the death of George Floyd, many Democrats excused, justified, and/or encouraged political violence that endangered and disenfranchised entire communities — some of which have yet to fully recover. In a recent interview with Oprah, Harris said that any intruders in her house would be shot. There is no evidence that the attack on Nancy Pelosi’s husband carried out by a gay prostitute was politically motivated or inspired by Trump rhetoric. Pundits have also taken his comments about General Milley out of context, ignoring the fact that he subverted President Trump during his administration, broke the chain of command and tried to stage a politically motivated coup and is legally considered a traitor by many experts.
She went on to share what she called clips of a JD Vance speech juxtaposed with what she called “receipts,” or evidence contradicting his claims. She cited death threats against President Biden and Vice President Harris, although all presidents have received death threats, and there’s a significant difference between expressing intent to harm and opening fire.
The same day as the second assassination attempt on President Trump, Democratic Senator and notorious anti-gun advocate wrote on X, “It’s ok to admit these two things are both true at the same time: 1. It’s heartbreaking and unacceptable that Donald Trump was once again the target of political violence. 2. No leader has done more to inspire and endorse political violence than Donald Trump.”
