Republicans are seeking to capitalize on Trump’s assassination attempt — using it to demand everyone stop talking about his threats to democracy.

Republicans are seeking to capitalize on Trump’s assassination attempt — using it to demand everyone stop talking about his threats to democracy

As Donald Trump recovers from an assassination attempt and Republicans head to Milwaukee for his coronation this week, the GOP elite has rallied around a new messaging strategy: emotionally blackmailing Democratic politicians, journalists, Hollywood celebs, and numerous other Trump critics into shutting up about the former president’s openly authoritarian vows and his extreme policy agenda.

Since the deadly shooting at a Pennsylvania rally Saturday, prominent conservatives have been working to blame the incident on Trump’s enemies for labeling him a “fascist” and for fanning heated “rhetoric” that, in their telling, caused the would-be assassin to shoot at the former and perhaps future American president. “When the message goes out constantly that the election of Donald Trump would be a threat to democracy and that the Republic would end, it heats up the environment,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) saidSunday, adding: “It’s simply not true. Everyone needs to turn the rhetoric down.”

  • Tolookah@discuss.tchncs.de
    1402·
    4 months ago

    I’ll stop talking about trump being a fascist when he stops being a fascist. Maybe a little after that to make sure. Maybe a lot after that.

    • fluxion@lemmy.worldEnglish
      35·
      4 months ago

      I saw some Congressman talk about how it’s wrong to say he’s a threat to democracy…

      Dude’s hat literally says 45-47, after 50 court dismissing his claims. How much more blatant does it need to be before you actually are a threat to democracy? After you’ve already completely destroyed it?

      • MeekerThanBeaker@lemmy.world
        8·
        4 months ago

        I agree. However, isn’t the 45-47 just him being the 45th president and him wanting to be the 47th?

        I don’t think it means 45, 46, and 47… though I could be wrong because it’s him. It should probably be 45&47 or 45/47 to be more clear, but again it’s him.

        • kautau@lemmy.world
          6·
          4 months ago

          It’s the subtext that matters. It could just as easily say 45,47, or the options you said, but it pretty definitively says Trump should be president for three terms, and if Trump is elected, I guarantee he won’t step down to a democratic election when his term is up, it’ll either be:

          • He uses his presidential power to fully and without question prevent any new elections, which he can now basically do anything legally in power as America’s king
          • The vote is a sham, it’s rigged, like Putin’s and he just has landslide wins
          • He passes power to his new puppet VP or someone else that can maintain the fascist reign
      • DessertStorms@lemmy.blahaj.zone
        66·
        4 months ago

        How much more blatant does it need to be before you actually are a threat to democracy?

        They already know, it’s the one thing the blue no matter who crowd has been promising all along - that Biden will sAVe dEmoCrAcY, but now that someone actually tried to get rid of the threat to democracy (even if that wasn’t his motive), the only thing they have to cling on to is their “civility” aka “the rules” (written and enforced by authoritarians looking to maintain their position), because the truth is, they never gave a shit about “democracy” (one never really existed anyway) only about their “team” winning, because to them it’s still just a game, that’s why they stand by Biden despite him clearly posing no threat to fascism whatsoever…

  • Sanctus@lemmy.worldEnglish
    792·
    4 months ago

    Fuck you. You made that call. You have been for six fucken years. Now you’re pissed that when it was answered the barrel was pointed at you? I hope you fear every convention, every speech, every relaxing day you ever have. Make no mistake, this is no Reichstag Fire, we can see through you.

    • Delusional@lemmy.world
      31·
      4 months ago

      I would love it if someone would go to every rally of his with a bushel of balloons and occasionally pop them at random. Someone should follow him and do it everywhere he goes.

  • Substance_P@lemmy.worldEnglish
    41·
    4 months ago

    Sorry, Mike, are you really going to gaslight the opposition into overlooking those “frivolous” details of Project 2025? Let’s not mention that Trump will now have powers like a king, and through this reshaping of government, it will erode worker rights and social protections, steer the country towards an ideologically driven agenda that could harm economic stability, national security, and cultural diversity. Its emphasis on loyalty over expertise, the potential for biased policy influence, and the disregard for democratic norms and legal safeguards entirely.

    Sounds like something we all should be worried about, Mike.

  • gravitas_deficiencyEnglish
    15·
    4 months ago

    I am straight up disappointed the shooter had such crap aim. How’s that for emotional blackmail, you fucking fascists? This is literally what you wanted. You have been pushing for this openly since January 6th. You cannot convince me that you’re surprised that this happened. You’re only surprised that it came for you first.

  • AutoTL;DR@lemmings.worldBEnglish
    1·
    4 months ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:

    As Donald Trump recovers from an assassination attempt and Republicans head to Milwaukee for his coronation this week, the GOP elite has rallied around a new messaging strategy: emotionally blackmailing Democratic politicians, journalists, Hollywood celebs, and numerous other Trump critics into shutting up about the former president’s openly authoritarian vows and his extreme policy agenda.

    “When the message goes out constantly that the election of Donald Trump would be a threat to democracy and that the Republic would end, it heats up the environment,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.)

    Top Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Sunday he had been “worried about this for a very, very long time,” adding: “You know, if he wins, democracy is not going to end.

    Such plans were hatched hours before it became public that the shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was a registered Republican; his motive has continued to elude law enforcement and even his own neighbors.

    Trump and his closest allies are pledging to punish President Joe Biden and other top Democrats and jail his political opponents; unleash the National Guard and active-duty troops on Democratic-controlled cities whenever he wishes; end the Justice Department’s independence so he can use it to crush his foes, shut down his criminal cases, and erase any hope of accountability for his alleged crimes; retaliate against media outlets that cover him negatively; deport pro-Palestine protesters; oversee an unprecedented crackdown on immigrants, potentially erecting a vast network of camps on U.S. soil; further institutionalize his anti-democratic lies and conspiracy theories that led directly to the Jan. 6 attack; and even invade and bomb Mexico if he feels like it.

    Trump is calling now for “peace” and “unity,” but he has a lengthy track record of downplaying or excusing the harm done to the victims of pro-Trump violence — to the point that late last year he was onstage mocking House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi’s husband after he was brutally attacked by a Trump-supporting conspiracy theorist wielding a hammer.

    The original article contains 825 words, the summary contains 330 words. Saved 60%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!