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Every American has the right to participate in public life without violence, and that includes Donald Trump. Personally, I think he probably belongs in jail, but that is a matter for the justice system. I also think he is easily the worst president in American history and one of the very worst people in our national life. But my feelings have no bearing on his rights or his safety. He is an American, and I want him to be treated fairly in court. He is my fellow citizen, and I want him to walk our streets without being in danger. He is a candidate for public office in the United States, and I want our government to ensure his safety—I am willing to be taxed to pay for his security.
If only Trump and his homunculus, J. D. Vance, cared as much about the safety of others as so many others care about theirs.
My colleague David A. Graham has already noted the misery that Vance is bringing down on his own constituents in Ohio, using hatred against immigrants to set neighbors against one another, a conflict that has led to the closure of schools and the lockdown of two hospitals. Vance is a product of such a working-class town, but in reality he is an utterly synthetic politician, a power-seeking drone who will do almost anything to further his political fortunes. In this case, he is casting the innocent people of Springfield, Ohio, in his own obscene little drama about migrant savages roaming the streets of the heartland trying to sink their teeth into Fluffy and Fido. Sure, it’s a pack of lies—Vance admitted on CNN that he and Trump are “creating stories”—but it’s all for the greater good, you see, of advancing the career of the Hillbilly Senator.
Trump, meanwhile, is turning the violence against him into fuel for more political hatred. In July, a young man—a loner with no obvious political agenda—tried to kill Trump in Pennsylvania, and almost did. And now another man is under arrest for a possible assassination attempt after being discovered near Trump’s golf course, apparently lying in wait for the former president. Once again, the suspect seems to be something of a weird loner who said on X that he voted for Trump in 2016 but in subsequent elections, according to federal campaign-finance records, began donating to Democrats. One might hope that these brushes with death would bring Trump a moment of reflection and, perhaps, even something like grace. But if Trump were capable of such a response, he wouldn’t be the man he is.
After the attack in July, Trump engaged in a self-indulgent ramble at the GOP convention, but he did not blame the Democrats; he left that for his surrogates in the party. This time, he’s not even bothering with any of that outsourcing and is instead using this latest incident to blame his political opponents, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, for putting him in danger. He also blames the justice system and the charges brought against him—charges in multiple venues that have been filed in the name of the State of Georgia, the People of New York State, and the United States of America—for encouraging others to try to kill him.
He posted this today on Truth Social and X, and I offer it here verbatim and in its entirety:
The Rhetoric, Lies, as exemplified by the false statements made by Comrade Kamala Harris during the rigged and highly partisan ABC Debate, and all of the ridiculous lawsuits specifically designed to inflict damage on Joe’s, then Kamala’s, Political Opponent, ME, has taken politics in our Country to a whole new level of Hatred, Abuse, and Distrust. Because of this Communist Left Rhetoric, the bullets are flying, and it will only get worse! Allowing millions of people, from places unknown, to INVADE and take over our Country, is an unpardonable sin. OUR BORDERS MUST BE CLOSED, AND THE TERRORISTS, CRIMINALS, AND MENTALLY INSANE, IMMEDIATELY REMOVED FROM AMERICAN CITIES AND TOWNS, DEPORTED BACK TO THEIR COUNTIES OF ORIGIN. WE WANT PEOPLE TO COME INTO OUR COUNTRY, BUT THEY MUST LOVE OUR NATION, AND COME IN LEGALLY AND THROUGH A SYSTEM OF MERIT. THE WORLD IS LAUGHING AT US AS FOOLS, THEY ARE STEALING OUR JOBS AND OUR WEALTH. WE CANNOT LET THEM LAUGH ANY LONGER. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
In other words, Trump is blaming two possible attempts to kill him on pretty much anyone who isn’t an open partisan on his side, and that includes Biden, Harris, me, and millions of other Americans.
Self-awareness is not part of Trump’s personality: He is complaining about overheated rhetoric while constantly spewing such rhetoric himself. He has called Harris various names, and he refers to everyone else he doesn’t like as “vermin” and “scum” and other insults. (Today he called the sitting president and vice president of the United States “the enemy from within.”) Many of Trump’s political opponents and public critics have been the targets of plots and threats, including a pipe-bombing campaign. At this point, with two apparent plots against him foiled, a more thoughtful person would consider what he could do to help turn down the temperature in the nation. But again, Trump is not that kind of man.
America, however, has had such leaders. Many of Trump’s supporters on social media, afflicted with short memories and a lack of historical awareness, seem to believe that the attacks on Trump are unprecedented. Two assassination attempts in about two months is indeed horrifying, but it is not unprecedented: In 1975, President Gerald Ford survived two such attempts in fewer than three weeks. One assailant was a woman from West Virginia named Sara Jane Moore. The other was an acolyte of the murderer Charles Manson, Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme. Both of them came within feet of killing Ford.
Ford was a decent man and an underrated president, and he certainly had enemies, especially after pardoning Richard Nixon. (Moore was obsessed with the Vietnam War and thought that assassinating Ford would spark a violent national revolution.) But he did not blame his opponents for the attempts on his life. He did not blame America, or the courts, or anyone else. He also did not use the attacks by Moore and Fromme to fundraise: Trump used his attacks to beat the bushes for money within a few hours. Instead, Ford acceded to the Secret Service’s request that he start wearing a trench coat with a zip-in Kevlar vest. (It was very uncomfortable and he disliked wearing it.) He then went back out in public and conducted a presidential campaign, which he lost.
Trump doesn’t deserve to be the target of violence any more than his opponents do, even if his own rhetoric has inspired multiple threats against public figures—and, of course, a seditious riot. We are a better country, and a better people, than Trump, and every good American citizen should insist on his protection and his safety. But he and Vance seem unable to insist on ours—a fundamental duty of elected officials—and this makes them unfit to hold any American public office.
Related:
Here are three new stories from The Atlantic:
Today’s News
- The man suspected of the apparent assassination attempt targeting Trump yesterday was charged with two federal firearm counts. The investigation is ongoing, and additional charges could be added, according to officials familiar with the situation.
- Lawyers for TikTok appeared in federal court to argue against a law that gave TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, less than a year to sell TikTok to a non-Chinese company or face a nationwide ban.
- At least 17 people have been killed and thousands have been displaced after Storm Boris flooded Central Europe with extreme rainfall.
Dispatches
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Evening Read
A $700 Kitchen Tool That’s Meant to Be Seen, Not Used
By Ellen Cushing
Wood [has] limitations, and many of them are found in the kitchen. Processed wood warps, so it needs to be dried immediately after hand-washing (forget the dishwasher). Moisture, use, and the passage of time can turn its fibers brittle and dull, so experts recommend treating it regularly with oil. Obviously, it has been known to catch on fire. And though wood is naturally antimicrobial, if it splinters, those cozy organic crevices are the types of places where mold, mildew, and bacteria love to hang out …
None of this seems to matter to the people who recently bought KitchenAid’s Artisan Design Series Evergreen 5-Quart Tilt-Head Stand Mixer, which comes not with the brand’s standard stainless-steel bowl, but with a walnut one.
More From The Atlantic
Culture Break
Debate. The Bear (streaming on Hulu) has tested the meaning of the Outstanding Comedy Series category at the Emmys, Hannah Giorgis writes. After the show’s loss last night, has the Emmys finally realized that The Bear is not a comedy?
Watch. Bel-Air (available on Peacock) is a reboot that stands on its own, Amina Kilpatrick writes in the Sunday Daily.
P.S.
It’s that time of year, as The Atlantic Festival is about to get under way! Come join us on September 19 and 20 in Washington, D.C., as my colleagues examine crucial issues shaping the future of democracy: Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania will discuss navigating the rise of political polarization with Atlantic editor in chief Jeffrey Goldberg; The Bulwark’s Tim Miller, Sarah Longwell, and Bill Kristol will join Atlantic contributor Evan Smith to explore the future of American conservatism; U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas will sit down with The Atlantic’s Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Caitlin Dickerson to discuss domestic and international threats to democracy.
They will also be joined by Hakeem Jeffries, Karl Rove, Jemele Hill, David Axelrod, Jonathan Haidt, Anna Deavere Smith, Jake Tapper, and others. In-person passes for events at The Wharf and free virtual passes are available now. Subscribers get a special discount. See the full agenda and get your pass at TheAtlanticFestival.com.
— Tom
Stephanie Bai contributed to this newsletter.
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