No Equivalency in Dangerous Inciteful Language Between the Left and the Right

We can all agree that there is too much hateful rhetoric in our politics these days. Even worse, much of the demonization of political figures is hyperbolic and untrue. It exists to some degree on both sides of the political divide, but there is no equivalency – as the left likes to claim in a display of whataboutism.

President Trump has said things that make people cringe, to be sure. He was glad Robert Mueller was dead (and one has to wonder why since the Mueller Report exonerated Trump of conspiring with Russia). The comments following the murders of Rob Reiner and his wife were tasteless to say the least. Trump has called military leaders traitors — and reminded Americans that the punishment for treason is death. But these comments – as bad as they are – have been few and far between compared to the 24/7 onslaught if extremely hateful demonization of Trump, Republicans and conservatives across the left-wing ecosphere. In stark contrast, the sheer volume of extreme and violent rhetoric coming from Democrats and the left-wing establishment has been far more provocative, more vicious and more dangerous.

The three attempts on President Trump’s life are connected to left wing demonization language by the shooters themselves. In their posting and manifestos, they justify their actions based on the language describing Trump as an evil dictator, fascist, racist, xenophobe, misogynist who will bring down the American Republic. He has been compared to Hitler and even referred to as the anti-Christ. “Trump has to go now” and “Trump has to be eliminated” is the mantra of the left.

One need look no further than President Biden himself suggesting it was time to put Trump in the “bullseye.” Or Representative Dan Goldman declaring on national television that Trump “has to be eliminated.” Or Maxine Waters urging supporters to “create a crowd” and “push back” on Trump administration officials in public spaces. Robert De Niro, that paragon of the Hollywood left, has repeatedly called Trump the enemy of the country who “must be stopped now” and that “we have to get rid of him.” Vice President Harris and others have branded him a fascist and an existential threat to democracy itself.

Even after the third attempt, they doubled and tripled down. In a CNN appearance, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker was asked about his describing Trump as a Hitler and Republicans as Nazis. The Jewish governor responded that he has been proven correct. Congressman Adam Smith appeared on MS NOW and reiterated his claim that Trump is a dictator. These are not fringe voices from the outer edges of the movement. These are not some nutcases on the fringe, but the most prominent Democrats, powerful elected leaders, influential celebrities and major media outlets operating at the very center of the left-wing establishment.

And the hate does not stop with Trump. Left wing rhetoric goes far beyond the President. It is directed at other Republican leaders, the entire Republican brand, and even grassroots voters. Remember Hillary Clinton’s “basket of deplorables”? Or Biden labeling MAGA Republicans as “semi-fascists,” “garbage,” and a “threat to democracy”? Conservatives are painted as enemies of the Republic simply for holding traditional views. This dehumanization is systemic. It has now been embedded in the DNA or the contemporary Democratic Party.

The hateful rhetoric and demonization have been amplified and endorsed by an incessantly biased left-wing media on a daily 24/7 basis. Cable news channels and major newspapers do not merely report. They echo and amplify the demonization with hyperbolic headlines and panels of pundits competing to see who can be the most extreme. One has to chuckle at the hypocrisy.

According to Chuck Todd and others on the left, it is all Trump’s fault. He is to blame for all the vicious rhetoric. According to Todd, only the President can set the tone. What malarkey.

They engage in unbalanced whataboutism to deflect responsibility and to remove the onus from their own shoulders. They point to a few isolated comments from Trump and pretend it is the same as the systemic, unrelenting barrage of venomous accusations from their side. But there is no equivalency. Trump’s occasional sharp elbows pale in comparison to the pervasive institutionalized campaign of hatred coming from the left. The scale is different. The volume is different. The prominence of the speakers is different. And most importantly, the real-world consequences are different. The left’s rhetoric has led to actual assassination attempts, with shooters echoing the very talking points from MSNBC, CNN, and Democrat press conferences.

The rhetoric of the left is more extreme precisely because it frames political disagreement as a moral apocalypse. They do not just criticize policy. No. No. No. They call for the elimination of the policy makers. It dehumanizes opponents not as wrong but as evil incarnate. It normalizes violence by suggesting that stopping “fascism” justifies almost anything. Meanwhile, they act shocked when deranged individuals act on the very narrative they have pushed for years.

It is time for honest Americans to reject this false equivalence. Dangerous inciteful language from the left is pervasive and has real consequences. Until the left tones down the vitriol from their leaders, media, and celebrities, they bear the greater responsibility for the toxic political climate and the violence it breeds. It is one thing to call out right-wing rhetoric they see as offensive – to oppose actions and decisions with which they disagree – but It is quite another to shed responsibility with false claims that the hateful rhetoric is evenly spread across the political landscape. There is simply no equivalency.

So, there ‘tis.