Collin Willis

Words matter. Rhetoric matters. It is something I have been vocal about since nearly the beginning of the 2016 elections. How our politicians choose to speak to and of each other matters. It is a surprisingly ironic hill for Donald Trump to now claim as his own. In the wake of two assassination attempts, the former President is now trying to pin the tail on the donkey as if he hasn’t been flinging darts since 2015. Donald Trump created the mess and now, as is his custom, he’s blaming everyone else for its existence. To illustrate this issue and just how asinine it is, I’m going to pass this discussion through the lens of a sketch from I Think You Should Leave.

The sketch is linked below, but it is a little inappropriate so if you choose not to watch I’ll add a synopsis below.

“We’re All Trying to Find the Guy Who Did This”

The gist of the sketch is that a hot dog shaped car crashes through the window of a clothing store. The panicked shoppers try to figure out what happened until the man in the hot dog suit speaks up. Hot Dog Man then proceeds to try and convince the shoppers that anyone could have done it, pointing out the gentleman (below) who is also wearing hot dog colored clothing.

At the same time, he’s also trying to steal a few suits and make faux-sincere social commentary about how little we truly get to know each other. It’s all very farcical as he is clearly the person who created the incident and is now lying out of his sausage about it. He rambles and delays until finally the police chase him out of the store and the sketch ends.

Trumpian Rhetoric

Donald Trump is known for his insistence on mockery, slander, and outright vituperative rhetoric towards his opponents. From chants of “lock her up” to “stop the steal”, Donald Trump has repeatedly shown no hesitation in demonizing his enemies or spreading untruths either from his mouth or whatever social media accounts he has yet to be blocked from. He has repeatedly degraded women, referred to immigrants as criminals, rapists, and murderers; accused everyone to the left of the Alt-Right of being a Socialist/Marxist (he doesn’t know the difference between the two), and lauded the January 6th Insurrectionists as Patriots. Time and again he has used divisive, hateful, racist, bigoted, and frankly inappropriate language to describe any and everyone he either disagrees with or deems subaltern to him. His rhetoric is scurrilous at the very greatest degree. I’ve spoken repeatedly about the hollowness of Donald Trump’s faith and their is no greater example of the contents of his heart than the words that flow from his mouth. (Matthew 12:34).

The Debate

During the debate against Kamala Harris, Donald Trump moaned about how The Left refers to him as a threat to democracy and how he nearly took a bullet to the head because of the things they have said about him. I would like to use the remainder of this post to break down the crying wolf he did and the actions of The Left, while also addressing the contradictory behavior he displayed both during and after the debate. And yes, Hot Dog comparisons will be made.

Bullet(s) to the Head

There have been two assassination attempts on Donald Trump, one before and one after the debate. In neither case is there clear evidence that he was attacked for the rhetoric he claims lead the shooter to fire.

Thomas Matthew Crooks

The first shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, is mostly a mystery. His true motive is unknown, and his political affiliations (while Republican) are nearly as sparse. The attack, based on his search history, seems to be based more on an opportunity to strike rather than a specific desire to kill Donald Trump. That said, there is little more than conjecture because he was killed in the attempt and authorities have not revealed much of anything from their investigations.

Ryan Wesley Routh

The second shooter was not killed in the attempt and has maintained a much more active digital and political presence. Ryan Wesley Routh was a Trump supporter in 2016 but had turned allegiances by the 2020 election. His political views and aims are a mixed bag of far right conspiracy and far left candidacy. What’s interesting isn’t that he fails to share the same “threat to democracy” views as The Left but that he held and posted them before they became a rallying cry of leading Democrats after January 6th. I think you could make the case that his views have been reinforced by these cries, but the element of violence Donald Trump really wants to be within them is lacking. In fact, one of Routh’s most seething complaints against Trump seems to be his support of Vladmir Putin and his disdain for the Ukrainian war effort.

Authoritarian Tendencies

Donald Trump’s rhetoric has unabashedly stirred up and supported violence both at home and abroad. The former President is blithe about the notion of civil rhetoric as it pertains to the harm brought to this nation, to its people, and even to people’s abroad. Donald Trump cares about one thing, himself. Donald Trump is a threat to democracy and it’s not an exaggeration or a half-truth, it is a reflection of both his actions and his words.

Threat to Democracy

Donald Trump does not respect the legal and verified results of the 2020 election. He is inveterate in his cries of fraud, stolen votes, and rigged election processes. It doesn’t matter that the results have been verified, that the court cases failed to dredge up any proof, or that fraud was found in his favor. Donald Trump still screams false truths about the integrity of our democratic process and refuses to accept the results of it. When you constantly undermine that process and seek its undoing, you are objectively a threat to democracy. He is that much a threat to our democratic voices today as he was on January 6th when his followers heeded his lies as truths and marched with his passing approval onto Washington. He might not have given the order to storm the capital, but he firmly planted the idea in their heads and stoked the fires that only he could have put out.

Ukraine and Putin

There are few individuals that threaten the entirety of freedom and democratic existence in the world more than Vladmir Putin. He is the closest thing the Earth has produced to Hitler this side of Joseph Stalin. He has ruled Russia with an iron fist for nearly twenty-five years and in that time he has murdered his political enemies, imprisoned dissenters, occupied foreign territory by force, abetted violent leadership in the Middle East, and greatly restricted the freedoms of the Russian people. Nearly every major politician (including Presidents) have outright condemned his actions and behavior.

Yet among the Far Right, Putin has become an idealogue for traditional masculinity and value, elevating him in the eyes of those who claim to stand for what he has thus far proven to be the antithesis of. Donald Trump is no exception to this far right admiration, and has repeatedly made admiring claims about the Russian President. His plan to end the Russia-Ukraine war would result in large Ukrainian concessions that would give Russia greater economic, military, and political power on the world stage. Donald Trump is not just a softie towards the militaristic aims of the Russian fascist state, but an avid supporter of them. And this doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of Trump-Russian relations such as his attempts to profit off of Russian engagements made while President, Russian interference in the 2016 election, or the massive propaganda investments that Russian shells have made on platforms such as Facebook. When you support a threat to democracy and our nation this large, you become a complicit and compliant part of that threat.

Debate Rhetoric

“They’re Eating the Pets”

At the same time as Donald Trump was crying wolf about the consequences of Kamala Harris and President Biden’s words, he was repeating false claims that have already lead to dire consequences. The notion that Haitian immigrants are “eating the pets” had already been debunked before the debate, the originator of that rumor having later recanted it herself and apologizing to her neighbor. Donald Trump knew that statement was false and he knew that it was divisive, but he said it anyways. And now the residents of Springfield, Ohio are paying the price in bomb threats, school cancellations, and fears for personal safety. Donald Trump is responsible for every single one of those violent disruptions because he spread the rumor that inspired others to take action.

Pets Pt. 2

JD Vance has taken to the news to assert that the claims were made so that people would discuss the issue. In other words, the lie is being defended because attention has been turned by it. Two wrongs do not make a right, even if the issue is just. The massive influx of Haitian immigrants does create logistical problems and both fiscal and cultural discontent to a city as small as Springfield. Immigration is not always the rosy and happy process that the Democrats always want it to be seen as. Yet the Right insists on stunts that harm people seeking asylum and freedom within the borders of our nation. Having reasonable concerns does not justify harmful rhetoric and hateful action towards the downtrodden.

If Donald Trump took immigration seriously, he would have thrown his weight behind the bi-partisan bill to reform immigration and security on paper and at the border this year instead of dismantling it. I wrote about this in “Choosing Barabbas” so I won’t go into as much detail here, but Trump and his myrmidons had the opportunity to deal with this issue impactfully and head-on. Instead, they chose to leave it unfished in hopes of using it as a campaign piece and now immigrants and asylum seekers are paying the price for their divisiveness and slander.

“It’s Clearly Your Car”

“Wait a second, wasn’t this post supposed to be about an I Think You Should Leave sketch?”

Circling back to my original analogy, in the middle of the Hot Dog sketch, the man in the actual Hot Dog costume points out another person with red and yellow clothing and asserts that it could very well be their car. That person is indeed wearing hot dog colors and had nobody been wearing an actual hot dog costume would be a very suspect candidate. Yet coincidence doesn’t matter nearly as much as direct evidence and nobody is fooled by the wolf crying of the man in the actual hot dog suit.

Extreme Views

The Left is not immune to divisive rhetoric, but they have shown much more restraint than Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans have made permissible. The difference is that the Left has suffered for their rhetoric when it has gotten out of hand and Donald Trump has been rewarded for it. Hillary Clinton was wrong to call Trump voters a “basket of deplorables.” Joe Biden was wrong for letting his temper get the better of his demeanor and ask “would you just shut up man?” during their 2020 debate. At the end of the day though, the Left has held the line against its most extremist views and leaders where the Republican party has compromised and bent the knee to Donald Trump.

Donald is the Hot Dog

Donald Trump is the source of all the chaos and his finger pointing and sudden calls for toned down rhetoric are just a distraction. Donald Trump doesn’t want to be held accountable for his actions, but he does want everyone else to be. So while he brings violence against immigrants and rage tweets about hating Taylor Swift, he points the finger and says “look at what you did to me.” He would be much better served doing this in a mirror, because he is the one who made that type of violent discussion, slander, and acidic rhetoric permissible. And he can keep pointing that finger and keep rambling, but he is still the man in the hot dog suit trying to dodge responsibility for the hot dog car lodged into the wall. At what point will we as a nation, or as a church, or even as just a community put our feet down and say that enough is enough? Are we going to let the hot dog keep rambling and keep stirring up division or are we going to hold him accountable for the chaos he has willingly created?