The Trump rally shooting reveals a bipartisan consensus about what constitutes political violence — and who should wield it.
By Natasha Lennard, The Intercept
A bipartisan sampling of the world’s greatest perpetrators and enablers of political violence has rushed to condemn political violence following the shooting attempt on former President Donald Trump on Saturday.
Politicians swiftly coalesced around the language of “political violence,” rather than terrorism, to describe the assassination attempt, carried out by Thomas Matthew Crooks, who was shot dead at the Western Pennsylvania rally. Taken together, the outpourings of condemnations betray a clear agreement on what constitutes political violence, and in whose hands the monopoly on violence should remain.
“The idea that there’s political violence … in America like this, is just unheard of, it’s just not appropriate,” said President Joe Biden, the backer of Israel’s genocidal war against Palestine, with a death toll that researchers believe could reach 186,000 Palestinians. Biden’s narrower point was correct, though: Deadly attacks on the American ruling class are vanishingly rare these days. Political violence that is not “like this” — the political violence of organized abandonment, poverty, militarized borders, police brutality, incarceration, and deportation — is commonplace.
“Everybody must condemn it,” Biden said of the assassination attempt.
Recent Posts
Zohran Mamdani on the Promise of America
Take Action Now In a speech marking the country’s 250th anniversary, socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani lays out his vision of a United…
Are We Willing to Actually Tax Billionaires or Only Willing to Talk About It?
Take Action Now The question before us in California is not complicated. Are we going to stand with the three million people—our friends and…
The Great American State Fair Is a Great Trumpian Disaster
Take Action Now The debacle on the National Mall captures an administration in free fall—and a president who is only interested in celebrating…
The Billionaire Money Behind New Centrist Pledge
Take Action Now Promise to America won’t disclose who is funding its new anti-socialist pledge. But the group is closely tied to the Welcome…