James Morrow: What the latest ‘probable’ attempt on Donald Trump’s life exposes
Analysis: In the fight for the White House the left has made the idea that Trump was and remains Hitler mainstream. Is it any wonder some of not-so sound mind might make the decision to take it a step further?
News
Don't miss out on the headlines from News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
So far this election cycle there have been not one, not two, but three apparent plots to assassinate former – and possible future – president Donald Trump.
We don’t know a lot about 49-year-old Vem Miller, who was in possession of multiple weapons when he was picked up outside a Trump rally in Coachella, California.
But we do know it was serious.
Serious enough for Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco to tell Southern California News Group: ‘We probably stopped another assassination attempt.’
Well, thank God for that.
But at some point we need to ask just what is going on over in the more extreme left end of the political spectrum that sees this sort of thing keep happening.
Remember, Thomas Crookes almost killed Trump in Butler, PA, back in July.
We don’t know a lot about Crookes, who appears to have been a strange loner type, but in any case Trump was saved only because he turned his head at the last moment.
Then there was Ryan Routh, who was found setting up with an AR-style rifle and lots of other paraphernalia on a Florida golf course where Trump was having a round.
Routh appears to have been something of a political basket case who was also obsessed with Ukraine.
And now this, at Coachella.
While of course criminals are responsible ultimately for their crimes, it is worth asking why is this happening over and over?
Could it be that it is because we are in an atmosphere where high profile Democrat individuals and institutions keep calling Trump a particularly “unique threat to democracy”.
Just this past weekend, the New York Times ran an editorial entitled “This Election Will Need More Heroes.”
It was illustrated with a graphic of a classical Ionic Greek column with a number of red arrows fired into it.
Wrote the Times, “Defying Mr. Trump and MAGA’s efforts to undermine the result of free and fair elections often came at a great cost to these people, to their relationships and, at times, to their own and their families’ physical safety. For this, they deserve our praise and our gratitude.”
Of course, the Times didn’t encourage violence, far from it.
Instead it praised election officials and government workers, urging them to fight a “systemic assault on the institutions that undergird American democracy.”
But it was part of an endless torrent of news that started nearly a decade ago when Trump first announced his entry into politics.
Since at least 2020, political violence has re-entered the chat in America as an acceptable option if things don’t go your way.
We saw this with the Antifa and Black Lives Matter riots (Kamala Harris herself supported at least one bail fund for rioters, many of whom would go on to commit more crimes).
We also saw this on January 6, among a minority of demonstrators who came with mayhem on their minds.
There was also a thwarted attempt on Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s life as well.
While the right was accused of conspiratorial thinking, the left was making the idea that Trump was and remains Hitler mainstream in many circles.
Is it any wonder that some of not so sound mind might make the decision to take it a step further?
More Coverage
Originally published as James Morrow: What the latest ‘probable’ attempt on Donald Trump’s life exposes
Join the conversation
‘I hid him’: Tyrrell’s grandmother speaks
Two years before William Tyrrell vanished without a trace, he went missing for the first time – now the “mastermind” of that disappearance has spoken.
Read more
‘Scary’: Collingwood stars open up about social media trolls
AFL star Brayden Maynard reveals the most common reason why social media trolls target him as he and teammate Tom Mitchell make a heartfelt pledge after an unthinkable tragedy.
Read more