Calling Trump a Tyrant Is Not a Call to Violence

Thursday, April 30, 2026

Conservatives want to police how we talk about Trump"while excusing how the president talks about everyone else.

Posted by Doc_Sarvis at 05:24 AM | 12 COMMENTS | permalink | Comment on This Entry |

The ruling as out of bounds any discussion of Trump's contempt for democracy is not merely some unfortunate by-product of the right's rhetorical gambit, but its central purpose. Trump has been glorifying and stoking violence since he entered politics. He has urged his rally-goers to "kick the crap out of" counterprotesters; has fantasized about unleashing the brute strength of his supporters ("I have the tough people, but they don't play it tough"until they go to a certain point, and then it would be very bad, very bad"); and, of course, mass-pardoned the insurrectionists who did precisely that on January 6, 2021.

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Jonathan Chait notes:

the conservative principle would seem to rule out any criticism of authoritarian tendencies, however real they may be. If calling a politician an aspiring authoritarian is tantamount to inciting their murder, then doing so is irresponsible even if the charge is true. Republicans could nominate the reanimated corpse of Benito Mussolini for president, and Democrats couldn't question his commitment to democracy without being accused of ginning up violence.

#1 | Posted by Doc_Sarvis at 2026-04-30 05:27 AM | Reply | Newsworthy 1

Trump may not be a pet person but he sure has one helluva collection of Pavlovian dogs.

#2 | Posted by Doc_Sarvis at 2026-04-30 09:39 AM | Reply | Funny: 1

Neither is calling him a rapist, a liar, and a thief.

Telling the flat truth cannot be a bad thing. You're either honest about reality of it eats you. As witness MAGA, who lives in a fantasy world that seeks to cover over every Trump crime and obscenity with implications of super-human powers.

The election and re-election of Trump have been the greatest national failures likely since the failure of Reconstruction. Donald Trump is a Monster. That is not a call to violence. It make be a call to place him in a zoo.

#3 | Posted by Zed at 2026-04-30 09:56 AM | Reply

It's not a call to violence.

But when violence occurs.....there will be accusations like that.

Every time

lazy, apathetic, and biased people want to be told what they want to hear. This is what they want to hear

#4 | Posted by eberly at 2026-04-30 10:16 AM | Reply

people want to be told what they want to hear.

#4 | POSTED BY EBERLY

What do want to hear?

#5 | Posted by Zed at 2026-04-30 10:20 AM | Reply

What do you want to hear?

#6 | Posted by Zed at 2026-04-30 10:21 AM | Reply

The short answer is "nothing".

I don't "want" to hear anything specific. I'll take information in whatever biased slant it comes. I don't desire it to be from a certain perspective.

I accept that information can't be packaged that way. It comes the way it comes and it's my job to sift through the noise. Not avoid the noise.

#7 | Posted by eberly at 2026-04-30 11:11 AM | Reply

It's not a call to violence.
But when violence occurs.....there will be accusations like that.
Every time
lazy, apathetic, and biased people want to be told what they want to hear. This is what they want to hear
#4 | Posted by eberly

Right.
Video games are not a call to violence.
But every time there's a school shooting, Republicans blame video games. Or trans kids. Or antidepressants. Anything but guns.
That's what lazy, apathetic, biased Republicans want to hear.

#8 | Posted by snoofy at 2026-04-30 11:16 AM | Reply

It's Not Inciting violence if Trump does it.

It Is Inciting violence if anyone else does it unless Trump Approves.

Trump is a Liar. Eberly is a Liar.

There's no Noise to filter.

Just Lies.

Like my Favorite that Nazis are "Leftists".

Or the the Whopper that Trump "Won" the 2020 election but Massive Voter Fraud denied him the "Victory".

Trump is a Dangerous Liar.

Eberly is just a DR level, Liar wannabe.

Sad.

Bigly.

#9 | Posted by Effeteposer at 2026-04-30 11:31 AM | Reply

-Eberly is just a DR level, Liar wannabe.

You're nuts, clearly.

Everyone here can see it.

But where am I lying?

After what appears to be some sort of assassination attempt predictably there will be accusations of inciting this behavior hurled at the other side.

Which is --------.....all I said was that it's predicable.

And that makes me a liar?

No noise to filter? OMG.....if there was a single poster here who thought you were even remotely sane.....that just ended right there.

I'm going to do both of us a favor and start completely ignoring you. You can sit in the closet with the other ----- unworthy of my time.

not in a corner......in my grade school, we put them in a closet....not a corner. LOL

#10 | Posted by eberly at 2026-04-30 11:38 AM | Reply

Of course it is all just more BS of the Facist Party.

Violence is what begets violence. When you kill Americans and then lie and try to cover it up Americans do tend to get violent about that.

It's not the rhetoric. It's the actions. And Republicans don't believe rhetoric can incite violence either.

If that were the case Trumpy would have been impeached and and possibly even Imprisoned for his role in inciting and inviting J6.

Which was very violent.

Also. Don't act like a tyrant and folks won't call you a tyrant. (Same for Deplorables)

And btw. Biden was called and is still called a tyrant by maga maroons today.

#11 | Posted by donnerboy at 2026-04-30 11:52 AM | Reply

What Happened to "Don't Tread on Me", "Give me Liberty or give me Death", the Whole Notion that the Second Amendment is about Killing Tyrants and the need for an Armed Populace to kill the evil Tyrants.

All big Right wing Slogans and Ideas.

It's Okay if THEY Do it.

It's okay if They Say it.

Get over yourself Eberly.

You don't have a Monopoly on Truth, Justice, or the American Way.

Your Filter is Faulty.

I Retract calling you a Liar. Trump Is a Liar.

You are just extremely Gullible and repeat lies without Reflection.

Not the Same thing, I Stand Corrected.

Thank you for your attention to this Matter.

#12 | Posted by Effeteposer at 2026-04-30 12:13 PM | Reply