OPINION:
It would be amusing if it weren’t so serious.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York and several other Democrats were on weekend programs calling for a toning down of the political conversation after the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in Washington.
Mr. Jeffries went so far as to say that we are all Americans. This is after regularly denouncing President Trump in harsh tones.
Another of the bad rhetorical offenders has been Rep. Jamie Raskin, Maryland Democrat. He has called the president an authoritarian who threatens the Constitution, the rule of law and democracy.
Other Democrats have called Mr. Trump a “fascist,” a “dictator” and a wannabe king. A few even compare him to Adolf Hitler.
Now they are saying “never mind.” No apologies; no accountability. It’s like the ad for a cleaning service after a catastrophic weather event: “Like it never happened.”
When the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was bombed in April 1995, President Clinton visited the site and blamed “loud and angry voices” in right-wing media and talk radio, which many took to mean Rush Limbaugh. Mr. Clinton said they spread paranoia and hate that fostered a criminal climate where violence had become acceptable.
Using Mr. Clinton’s formula, who is to blame after three reported attempts on Mr. Trump’s life? The left doesn’t have the equivalent of conservative talk radio, but it has many leftists who go on cable networks such as MS NOW and CNN, call Mr. Trump outrageous names and claim he is dangerous and a threat to the Constitution and free speech.
Did the accused gunman, 31-year-old Caltech graduate Cole Tomas Allen, internalize some of the poisonous hate speech directed at the president? Perhaps.
In a “manifesto” he sent to family members 10 minutes before opening fire (obtained by the New York Post), Mr. Allen reportedly referred to himself as the “Friendly Federal Assassin.” He said he was “hell-bent on killing Trump administration officials.”
Mr. Allen’s reported “targets” did not include FBI Director Kash Patel, for an unknown reason. Mr. Allen is said to have revealed his motivation: “I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes.”
He was, presumably, referring to the president.
Labels and similar accusations have been used by many voters, some elected Democrats and cable news guests (James Carville immediately comes to mind) to characterize the president.
Yes, the president bears some responsibility for contributing to the name-calling. At a news conference in the White House briefing room after the incident, the president significantly toned down his rhetoric, even praising the press, which he had reportedly been ready to skewer at the dinner.
Mr. Trump called for “national unity” and adopted a somber, even conciliatory, tone. He said he would give a different speech to the group in 30 days at the same location.
Will this “new Nixon” continue? Is the president a changed man? Experience and cynicism say no. Look how long the unity lasted after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. Longer than most, but it had an expiration date.
Yes, security could have been better, although Secret Service agents did their job. In his “manifesto,” Mr. Allen reportedly mocked what he considered a lack of security that allowed him to bring in his guns and knives as he checked in as a regular hotel guest days before the attack.
There may be improvements in security, but there likely will be no improvement in the labeling that too many politicians attach to those on the “other side.” Why can’t the other side be the Iranian leadership, Russia, North Korea and China? Don’t we already have enough enemies without creating new ones among ourselves?
• Readers may email Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@tribpub.com. Look for Cal Thomas’ latest book, “A Watchman in the Night: What I’ve Seen Over 50 Years Reporting on America” (Humanix Books).
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