On Sunday, President Trump continued to show that he understands the American people far better than the mainstream media does. The president chose to defend protesters in several states who are loudly lobbying their state governments to unlock economies that have been shut down over COVID-19 fears.
When asked an extremely leading question by USA Today’s David Jackson about whether he was “inciting violence” against state officials in some states with strict lockdown orders, Trump defended the citizens as patriotic.
“They’ve got cabin fever. They want their lives back.” the president said. “No I am not [inciting violence]. I’ve never seen so many American flags. These people love our country. They want to get back to work.”
Jackson followed up by asking about Nazi flags being reported at some protests. While some Nazi symbology has shown up at protests, they are generally jabs at the authoritarian actions of the various governors such as Michigan’s Gretchen Whitmer, Virginia’s Ralph Northam, and Kentucky’s Beshear, all Democrats — not endorsements of Nazism, as Jackson’s question implied.
Trump dismissed the question: “I totally would say, no way. I’m sure the news plays that up. I’ve seen American flags, all over the place.”
Jackson’s questions appeared to reference certain “death threats” made against Whitmer, Northam, and Beshear.
One so-called “threat” came in a Facebook post against Beshear:
“Down with Beshear! First he denies us our constitutionally protected right to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Then he denies us of our constitutionally protected right to practice our religion. Now he denies us are constitutionally protected right the peaceful protest. By these … unconstitutional acts on the part of Andy Beshear the Constitution protects us and gives us the authority to eliminate him by any means necessary via the Second Amendment.”
The person who posted the comment later said it was not a threat.
Was the post artfully worded? Absolutely not — especially not the last sentence. The phrase “eliminate him by any means necessary via the Second Amendment” is certainly a charged one. But does it truly constitute a death threat? Or is the media just really trying hard to look for one?
On April 17, the president tweeted in support of the Second Amendment in Virginia where Northam and the Democrat legislature is attempting to enact strict gun-control measures. In response to the tweet, NBC News accused the president of supporting a “call to arms” in some states.
Trump understands, far better than the mainstream media or Democrats, that the major fears Americans currently have are more about economic matters than the coronavirus. Americans are also rightly concerned about state governments who have lapsed quite easily into authoritarianism with unreasonable restrictions on citizens’ movement.
It’s not often that you see such a clear distinction in the way people view a crisis. President Trump and the protestors seek a return to normalcy as quickly as possible. The mainstream media sees the story of the century and is unwilling to let it go. And Democrats see yet another political weapon to use in the 2020 election.
Photo: AP Images
James Murphy is a freelance journalist who writes on a variety of subjects, with a primary focus on the ongoing anthropogenic climate-change hoax and cultural issues. He can be reached at [email protected]
