On Saturday, it took almost no time after Donald Trump called on his supporters to protest the injustice of his potential arrest for Democrats to accuse him of inciting violence.
“The former president’s announcement this morning is reckless: doing so to keep himself in the news & to foment unrest among his supporters,” Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) tweeted. “He cannot hide from his violations of the law, disrespect for our elections, and incitements to violence. Rightfully, our legal system will decide how to hold him accountable.”
Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) also made the same accusation.
“It was Donald Trump who broadcasted to the world the FBI raided his home to retrieve top secret documents. And it’s Donald Trump who has broadcasted to the world that he’ll soon be arrested. His goal is acts of violence in his name. And we must be prepared to protect against it,” he tweeted.
Others on the left claimed Trump’s comments were an incitement of violence — and, of course, New York City is said to be bracing itself for potential unrest, citing Trump’s call to “take our nation back” and urging his supporters to protest the abuse of justice system. Law enforcement sources told the New York Post that the NYPD and U.S. Secret Service are holding meetings, and the FBI, state court officers, and the Manhattan District Attorney’s office have also been informed of the security discussions.
These concerns are just as ridiculous as the claims that Trump incited violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Not only was President Trump still speaking when the violence at the Capitol began, but there’s also ample evidence that the riot was preplanned. Perhaps more importantly, Trump specifically called on his supporters to engage in peaceful protest. “I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard,” Trump said in his speech.
Related: Trump and Hillary Have Been Accused of the Same Crime, but Hillary Never Faced Potential Arrest
As for Democrats, they’ve engaged in more violent rhetoric than Trump ever has.
In 2020, then-N.Y. Gov. Andrew Cuomo basically incited New Yorkers to kill President Trump. “He better have an army if he thinks he’s gonna walk down the street in New York. New Yorkers don’t want to have anything to do with him,” Cuomo said. “He can’t have enough bodyguards to walk through New York City.”
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) was also accused of encouraging the assassination of Trump by displaying “86 45” in the background during an interview on Meet The Press, since 86 is common slang for killing someone, and 45 meant Trump, the 45th president.
Democrats have become so accustomed to inciting violence they do so regularly without batting an eye. In 2020, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) threatened Justices Kavanaugh and Gorsuch with violence if they didn’t rule the right way on an abortion case. “I want to tell you, Gorsuch, I want to tell you, Kavanaugh: You have released the whirlwind, and you will pay the price,” Schumer said. “You won’t know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions.”
Two years later, a pro-abortion activist was caught with multiple weapons near the home of Justice Kavanaugh, and the man admitted that he planned to assassinate Kavanaugh. Schumer never retracted his violent rhetoric, and Joe Biden didn’t even condemn the assassination attempt.
Last year, a man attacked GOP gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin on stage during a campaign with a sharp object after his opponent, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-N.Y.), had directed her supporters to the event.
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) has also notoriously incited violence — in fact, even former CNN pundit Chris Cillizza called her rhetoric irresponsible.
It is outrageous that the Democrats have the audacity to accuse former President Trump of inciting violence when they themselves regularly incite violence through their rhetoric. It is high time that the Democrats are held accountable for their own incendiary language that has led to or justified instances of violence — including the 2017 congressional baseball shooting by a supporter of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) that left Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) critically injured or the deadly BLM riots in the summer of 2020.
It is time to face the truth: Trump is not the problem. The real threat to our democracy comes from the Democrats, who routinely espouse violent rhetoric and then accuse Trump of inciting violence, knowing the media will take their side. Their rhetoric has fueled numerous instances of violence, leading to chaos and destruction across our country, and they’ve never been held accountable for it.
