Democrats have recently joined forces in blaming President Trump of fanning the flames of violence. While this is nothing new, it is concerning evidence of a pattern among the left. More particularly, the party that seeks to lead the nation is unwilling to take responsibility for the misdeeds of its members and is always looking to blame others. Americans should not trust this party to lead them.
As reported by The Hill, Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.) recently slammed the president’s scheduled visit to Kenosha, Wisconsin in wake of protests over the police shooting of Jacob Blake. “I think his visit has one purpose and one purpose only, that is to agitate things and make things [worse],” said Bass. “What happened in Portland, [was] you saw a parade of Trump supporters actively shooting paintballs at peaceful protesters, and the president, in my opinion, encourages that. He actually retweeted the people firing paint guns, I think he only means to agitate things.”
House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) echoed Bass’s sentiment. According to The Hill, Schiff stated: “The president is willfully fanning the flames of this fire,” adding, “The president is only motivated by one thing: what is in it for him. He sees this violence and his ability to agitate more of it as useful to this campaign. What it does to the country, the loss of life, he doesn’t care.”
Joe Biden’s deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield chimed in and accused President Trump of “inciting violence.” There is, however, ample evidence to discredit these unsubstantiated allegations.
First, much of the “inciteful” rhetoric has come from those on the left. For example, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) previously stated, “If you see anybody from that Cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd. And you push back on them. And you tell them they’re not welcome anymore, anywhere.”
Sen. Cory Booker encouraged people to “get up in the face of some congresspeople.” Nicolle Wallace encouraged Jeb Bush to punch Trump in the face. Madonna thought about blowing up the White House. Actor Johnny Depp despicably commented about assassinating a president. Additional examples abound.
Most important to note, of course, is that the violence occurring in various American cities has nothing to do with the president. Rather, it is the byproduct of weak (or nonexistent) leadership by Democrats and their unwillingness to condemn the violence.
In Portland, Oregon, Gov. Kate Brown (D) and Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler have allowed anarchists to run wild throughout the city, fostering an environment of lawlessness and chaos. Contrary to the claims of Democrats that Trump is inciting unrest, city and state officials in Oregon have rejected the president’s continued offers to send members of the National Guard to the city to address the disorder.
As reported by CBS News, acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf recently stated, “We’ve been asking Portland to do their job really for over three months now. What you see in Portland is an environment, they foster an environment of this lawlessness and chaos.”
Further proof of the left’s refusal to take responsibility was seen in Florida. Rep. Val Demings of Orlando also chose to criticize the president and his administration when asked about the ongoing civil insurrections in Portland. According to Demings, “The chaos and disorder and lawlessness we are seeing, that is Donald Trump‘s America.”
Not only are many on the left unwilling to strongly condemn the violent riots around the country, but some of their policies are helping to foster such conduct. Many Democrats promote “defunding” the police, which they portray as criminal justice “reform.” Most recently, the Virginia Senate approved legislation proposed by Democratic Sen. Scott Survell that would downgrade the legal penalty for a suspect found guilty of assaulting a police officer. This defies any sense of reason or logic.
Assuming the Democrats’ newfound public outcry against violence is heartfelt and genuine, why would some Democrats refuse the president’s offers to help curtail the unrest? Moreover, why would they elect to defund or to reduce protections vital to the very officers who are there to serve citizens?
Instead of blaming the president for the violence (and everything else) throughout the nation, Democrats need to look in the mirror. They should be shocked and embarrassed by what they see.
It isn’t the president who is promoting or inciting violence. On the contrary, it is Democratic Party policies, poor leadership, and Democrats’ lack of accountability that has led to the current level of unrest. As President Trump has correctly pointed out, the most dangerous cities in American are run by Democrats. Why then, should they be trusted to lead an entire nation of 330 million people?
In his 1791 work “The Rights of Man,” political philosopher and writer Thomas Paine stated: “A body of men holding themselves accountable to nobody ought not to be trusted by anybody.” Little did Paine know how applicable his quote would be today, and sadly, just how right he would be.