BBC presenter David Aaronovitch has come under fire for urging President Biden to assassinate Donald Trump in response to the Supreme Court’s recent immunity ruling. The now-deleted post read, “If I was Biden I’d hurry up and have Trump murdered on the basis that he is a threat to America’s security #SCOTUS.”
Aaronovitch’s comments have sparked outrage, but unsurprisingly, there has been little condemnation from mainstream media and left-wing circles, despite their fervent belief in cancel culture and moral policing. Instead, Aaronovitch attempted to downplay the situation by accusing his critics of lacking a sense of humor.
Double Standards and a Troubling Trend
The incident raises serious questions about the double standards prevalent in media and political discourse. Aaronovitch’s background, as noted on his Wikipedia page, includes being the son of a communist intellectual and economist. His parents, both atheists, held Marxism as their “faith,” which provides some context for his radical views.
The silence from the left-wing establishment on the issue is deafening, highlighting a troubling bias in how threats and hate speech are addressed depending on the political affiliation of the speaker.
The New York Post has more information on the limited fallout:
Aaronovitch’s reaction sparked immediate backlash – including one account that suggested “people have had police visits for a lot less. Knock knock.”
When Aaronovitch deleted his initial post, GB News contributor Alex Armstrong accused him of “backtracking” due to advice from his “handlers.”
“Ooh Alex. Tell me about my ‘handlers,’” Aaronovitch scoffed in reply.
Another journalist, Jack Montgomery, suggested that Aaronovitch had “Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
“‘Impartiality’ may not be in the best of health at the BBC…,” Steven Barratt, an author at The Spectator, remarked.
“If you think that saying it was satire will protect you, you was trying to incite violence against Donald Trump. Absolutely disgusting behavior,” another X user quipped.
Previous Threats Against Trump
This isn’t the first time high-profile individuals have made controversial or violent statements about Donald Trump. Comedian Kathy Griffin faced massive backlash in 2017 after a photo shoot in which she held up a bloodied replica of Trump’s severed head. The image was widely condemned, yet Griffin defended her actions as a form of political expression, only apologizing after significant public outcry.
Similarly, in 2020, actor Johnny Depp made headlines when he insinuated that it had been a long time since an actor assassinated a president, referencing John Wilkes Booth’s assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Depp’s comments were also met with backlash, but like Griffin, he downplayed the seriousness of his statement.
These examples underscore a disturbing pattern where violent rhetoric against Trump is often dismissed or excused, further polarizing an already divided political landscape.
