PUBLISHED: March 19, 2024 | www.baltimoresun.com
Mr. Trump’s relish for violence is sui generis in the history of presidential politics. On March 16, he bellowed it would be a “bloodbath” for the United States if he doesn’t win in November: “Now, if I don’t get elected, it’s gonna be a bloodbath. That’s going to be the least of it. It’s going to be a bloodbath for the country.”
In other words, the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol will be a tea party compared with what his armed MAGA supporters will undertake if Trump is not elected. True enough, Trump’s military metaphor was made in the context of economic dislocations in Ohio. But Trump has refrained from saying he did not mean a real, physical bloodbath. And he connected “bloodbath” to not being reelected, raising the specter of another Jan. 6th when he complacently watched violence at the U.S. Capitol for three hours without lifting a finger. Trump’s message sent by juxtaposing bloodbath with losing the election was obvious to all but the most obtuse. Does anyone think Mr. Trump will expressly disavow that he was promising bloodshed if he does not win the 2024 presidential election?
Are you surprised that former Vice President Mike Pence has nixed endorsing Mr. Trump despite his previous unwavering loyalty? Nikki Haley has also balked at an endorsement. Mr. Trump is on the road to self-ruination unless he immediately declares he will actively oppose violence or bloodshed even if he loses the 2024 election. Don’t hold your breath.
Armstrong Williams (www.armstrongwilliams.com; @arightside) is a political analyst, syndicated columnist and owner of the broadcasting company, Howard Stirk Holdings. He is also part owner of The Baltimore Sun.
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