American Wrath

Trump and MAGA Set the Stage for Further Division

Some readers may have only recently become familiar with Charlie Kirk after the events in Utah. I am well aware of Kirk and his “activism.” He has personally attacked and libeled me on numerous occasions, fabricating lies to rile up his supporters. His recent missives show that he’s maintained a grudge against me well after the impeachment of Donald Trump. But my real objection to Kirk was not personal––it was his relentless stoking of division, his inflammatory rhetoric that has corroded American politics, and his attack on our vulnerable fellow Americans that pissed me off.

Nevertheless, political violence has no place in the United States of America. That is not a token sentiment. It’s an ironclad belief that resorting to political violence creates an enormous danger for all Americans. The reemergence of politically charged shootings signifies that our system is in grave danger. Our ability to engage with one-another through open dialogue and debate must remain a core tenant of our democracy in order for our system of government to survive. Unfortunately, today, because of Trump we face the possibility of a national spiral into further division spurred on by an administration that embraces retribution over unity and healing.

In the aftermath of the assassination of far-right Christian nationalist activist Charlie Kirk, the Trump administration has chosen to further agitate political division, driving the U.S. in a very dangerous direction. As pointed out by my wife Rachel’s recent Substack post, this has extended to the point of mandatory mourning periods for the administration’s favorite podcaster. Failure to mourn as proscribed will mean sever consequences for offenders. One basic problem with this is, statistically speaking, far-right ideologies have been the main motivation for terror incidents and mass shootings in the United States. By announcing his government’s intent to dismantle “leftist organizations,” on the false pretext that left leaning groups are the culprit of political violence, Trump is not targeting the culprits or causes, but his opponents, while creating the conditions that will lead to more political violence. Even without action from law enforcement and government agencies, Trump’s declaration grants implicit permission to militia groups and vigilantes to pursue their own agendas of partisan violence against their political enemies.

Although it’s unclear what “leftist” groups or individuals fall under this label (antifa is not a group), the FBI has already begun investing resources into this mission under the direction of Kash Patel. The announcement of this mission was amplified by the appearance of Vice President Vance and Stephen Miller as hosts of a tribute episode of Charlie Kirk’s podcast on Monday. Rather than calling for unity and healing after this event, the Trump administration is casting a wide net of potential targets for retribution.