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
    1362·
    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
      34·
      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
        65·
        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…