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.”
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.