Washington Post Columnist Insists Republicans ‘Want To Kill Kids’

In a segment on her podcast, Jen Rubin’s Green Room, aimed at refining the party’s messaging, Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin advised Democrats to be more forceful in their communications, urging them to tell voters, “Republicans want to kill your kids.”

She began by addressing the need for Democrats to better communicate their accomplishments to voters, particularly those who are not engaged with traditional political news sources. Rubin emphasized that many voters are unaware of the positive changes happening at the state and national levels because they’re disengaged with the news cycle.

“You can’t talk broad themes. You have to boil it down to nuts and bolts and you have to be pithy. What do I mean by pithy? How about this? Republicans want to kill your kids. It’s actually true. If you’re going to oppose vaccinations, if you’re going to stop breakthrough medical research, if you’re going to allow minors and all sorts of people to get semi-automatic weapons, which they use to shoot up schools, well then you are responsible for kids health and death, unfortunately. It has to be that simple and that direct, and it has to be over and over and over again.”

Extreme rhetoric has dominated political commentary, particularly regarding President Donald Trump. Numerous pundits and publications have drawn comparisons between Trump and some of history’s most notorious figures, including Adolf Hitler, and insisted that Trump would ban gay marriage and interracial marriage, as well as revoke citizenship from “brown” people despite no evidence to substantiate these claims. From accusations of fascism to entirely fabricated policy predictions, the media and Democratic Party have been especially hyperbolic in their treatment of Trump. The media and commentators often turned to extreme language, painting Trump as an existential threat to democracy. However, despite the consistent use of such dramatic language, many would argue that it did little to sway the opinions of his base or meaningfully engage undecided voters.

Republican commentator Scott Jennings noted that while this rhetoric escalated under Trump, it’s been a recurring tactic of the left for decades.

“Now, I’m calloused on this Hitler business because I lived through the Bush years and I used to peer out my window onto Pennsylvania Avenue and I saw everybody marching around in their brown uniforms, signs up, ‘Bush is Hitler, Bush is Hitler.’ And then they did it to John McCain. They did it to Mitt Romney. They’ve done it to Donald Trump. Even did it to Paul Ryan, I recall at one point. So I’ve heard it all before.”

Rubin’s comments immediately attracted significant backlash, with critics accusing her of oversimplifying complex issues and resorting to hyperbole to make a political point. Some argued that such inflammatory language would alienate moderate voters and deepen partisan divides, rather than fostering constructive dialogue.

Although Rubin is no stranger to controversy, the backlash was severe enough that Rubin decided to abandon her long-running Twitter account, which had long been a platform for her political commentary. The move highlighted the intensity of the criticism she faced, though Rubin has yet to address the controversy directly.