How messed up are Trump Supporters?

[Angrboda]

More lies from our 'Liar In Chief'

“We have seen an effort by the media in recent hours to use the sinister actions of one individual to score political points against me and the Republican party,” Trump said.

The president commented on the news at his rally in Charlotte, North Carolina after authorities apprehended the Florida man suspected of sending pipe bombs to prominent Democrats.

Trump condemned political violence and called for an end to the politics of personal destruction, especially from the media.

“Political violence must never ever be allowed in America and I’ll do everything in my power to stop it,” he said. “The media has a major role to play, whether they want to or not.”

The president paused as his supporters continued to chant “CNN SUCKS!”

“They have a major role to play as far as tone, as far as everything,” Trump said. “The media’s constant unfair coverage, deep hostility, and negative attacks only serve to drive people apart and to undermine healthy debate.”

Trump recalled that Republicans did not use the aftermath of the Steve Scalise shooting by a left-wing radical to score political points.

“We did not use that heinous attempt at mass murder for political gain, because that would have been the wrong thing to do,” he said.
(Breitbart)

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San Francisco's Nancy Pelosi, the leader of House Democrats, responded, "On days like today, there are no Democrats or Republicans, only Americans united in our hopes and prayers for the wounded."

The coming-together recalled a similarly transcendent moment after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, when members of Congress, Democrat and Republican, ventured to the steps of the Capitol and side by side delivered a spontaneous rendering of "God Bless America."

But that brief harmony proved a mere pause as the country descended into an even deeper slough of animosity and political loathing.

Similarly, the high-flown words of party leaders were quickly and loudly drowned out Wednesday by partisans grasping for tactical advantage.

Among them was the president's son, Donald Trump Jr., who used Twitter to link the shootings to a controversial New York production of "Julius Caesar," in which a presidential doppelganger is murdered onstage.

"Events like today are EXACTLY why we took issue with NY elites glorifying the assassination of our President," commentator Harlan Hill wrote in a Tweet the younger Trump amplified by sharing with 1.7 million Twitter followers.

"The Left in this country is ushering in a new #CultureofViolence where violent hate is the new normal," tweeted Bill Mitchell, a pro-Trump radio host. "#DomesticTerrorists," he added.

(LA Times)

Not every congressional reaction set aside partisan politics, however. Republican Representative Chris Collins, who was the first member of Congress to back Trump during his presidential campaign, said in an interview on WBEN, "I can only hope that the Democrats do tone down the rhetoric." He went on to say: "The rhetoric has been outrageous: The finger-pointing, the tone, the angst and the anger directed at Donald Trump, his supporters, really then, some people react to things like that, people get angry as well, and you fuel the fires.”

(The Atlantic)

For a split second, the unexpected happened. When Trump addressed the nation from the White House, he was measured, inclusive, resorting to none of the usual snarky references to “fake news” or “Crooked Hillary”. “We may have our differences”, he said, but “we can all agree that we are strongest when we are unified”.

But that rare moment of comity was all too fleeting. Within hours of the shooting, the wider hostility had renewed with a vengeance.

Conservatives saw an advantage to silence criticism. Republicans lined up to accuse Democrats of having fanned the flames of discord, seemingly oblivious to the fact that by doing so they were themselves fanning the flames of discord. “The rhetoric has been outrageous,” said Chris Collins, Republican from New York, chiding Democrats to “tone it down”.

“America has been divided, and the violence is appearing in the streets, and it’s coming from the left,” said Steve King, the Iowa Republican who has often sparked controversy for making incendiary comments about immigrants and once suggested that “radical Islamists” would see Barack Obama as a saviour.

Some of the most vivid language was aired on Fox News by the president’s counselor Kellyanne Conway, who said that personal rhetorical attacks on members of the Trump administration were bound to lead to further gun rampages. “If I were shot and killed tomorrow, half of Twitter would explode in applause and excitement,” she said.

(The Guardian)