Next: MAGA Uses Violence to Silence Critics

Trump is still a fascist

Trump is still a threat to democracy. What will follow is MAGA using the shooting to quiet criticism, saying “over the top” anti-Trump rhetoric about fascism, ending democracy or banning abortion nationwide led to the violence in Butler. You can already hear cable news anchors starting the cool-political-talk-down language. It will only get worse. MAGA will press hard to leverage the shooting and deaths to silence all criticism out of decorum and politeness, all while emailing “iconic photos” of a bloody, fist-raising Trump to fundraise and rally troops for the fall election.

This politeness problem is akin to the American reluctance to speak ill of the dead, even if the dead are reprehensible. The right will ju-jitsu our anxiety over looking impolite to tame the media and cleave the center from the left. MAGA will say, you don’t like violence, but your strong rhetoric motivated someone to shoot at Trump, kill bystanders, and traumatize the crowd, which is a tragedy. So shouldn’t you simmer down? Who else to you want to get shot at?

Getting shot at does not change Trump or Project 2025

Anything in the core argument against Trump, namely he is a fascist in waiting, will be labeled as inciting violence. MAGA folks, who didn't care about Sandy Hook or Parkland, will sound positively snowflake about the shooting and bystander deaths to shut opponents down. They will complain, claiming vilifying Trump as wanting to toss the constitution, be a dictator and end democracy, led to the violence. By extension, even talking about "Project 2025” will be shut down as incendiary. Our news media, no paragon of bravery or integrity, will obediently follow the line so as to not be canceled, even though Trump has made a career of inciting and inflicting violence and is covered everyday.

The left must not censor itself. Ideally, journalists who care about democracy should stay the course as well. Trump getting shot at is not a get out of accountability free card. Sadly, people get shot all the time in this country. It is not a sign of heroism or nobility, it is just being in the wrong place in the wrong time in the gun country Republicans built. Hell, if the MAGAverse did not have such a gun fetish for so long, Trump might not have been shot at in the first place. In fact, I would like reporters to ask all these MAGA folks if their attitude towards gun control have changed. There is a roosting chickens perspective to this story, but I digress.

Politeness must not be used to strangle democracy

The line Trump opponents will need to walk is most Americans will have a politeness reaction for a while, especially with FOX and Sinclair station pushing the message to not talk ill of Trump and, by extension the dead bystanders. We just need to acknowledge violence is bad, then place Trump’s shooting in context with the rest of MAGA and Project 2025.

Today, it may look like Trump mat ride a fist-raising wave after this shooting and somehow turn being shot at to his advantage. But two people tried to kill Gerald Ford and he went on to lose to Jimmy Carter. So nothing is over yet.