What presidents say matters. That’s a new line from the Marco Rubio campaign, directed at the man who may drive him out of the Republican race today, if Rubio loses his home state in the Florida primary.
All of America needs to consider the simple wisdom of that — and ask what sort of country we will have if Donald Trump ascends to what would take on new meaning as the bully pulpit.
For nearly a year, outrageous and unconscionable things that come out of Trump’s mouth have propelled him to an improbable lead over moderate Republicans, as he taps into rage against the current government and the Republican machine and, increasingly, simple hatred.
Ugly speech has become so central to Trump’s candidacy that polite discourse may disorient him.
He appeared to marvel at the lack of name-calling during Thursday’s Republican debate in Miami. “So far, I cannot believe how civil it’s been up here,” he said. Today, with a big lead in delegates won in primaries and caucuses, Trump continues to embrace angry rhetoric, despite calls even from supporters that he act more presidential. And in campaign appearances since the fall, Trump has suggested to audiences numbering in the thousands that it’s OK to resort to violence. This past weekend, he defended himself in interviews, saying that he doesn’t condone violence. “I don’t talk about violence,” he said. A video archive prepared by the New York Times and posted Monday shows otherwise.
On Nov. 21, Trump paused during a campaign address, waiting for security workers to remove a protester. “Maybe he should have been roughed up,” Trump said of that person. A week later in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, he invited his supporters to strike out. “So if you see someone getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of them, would you?” he asked Feb. 1. “Seriously. OK, just knock the hell …. I promise you, I will pay for the legal fees.” In Las Vegas on Feb. 22, as he waited for a disturbance to be quelled, Trump pined for “the old days,” said “we’re not allowed to punch back anymore,” then asked, “Do you know what they used to do to guys like that when they were in a place like this? They’d be carried out on a stretcher, folks.” Later, he added, “I’d like to punch him in the face.”
A few days later, in Warren, Michigan, Trump said from a stage that security should remove a protester from the rally. “Try not to hurt him,” he said, but then seemed to advise something else: “If you do, I’ll defend you in court. Don’t worry about it.”
That was March 4. On March 9, in Fayetteville, North Carolina, where people vote today, Trump was again thinking about the bygone days when physical violence was the norm. “In the good old days this doesn’t happen because they used to treat them very rough,” he said of protesters. “And when they protested once, you know, they would not do it again so easily.”
Two days later the candidate was in St. Louis, again missing the old days, saying, “Part of the problem, and part of the reason it takes so long (to remove protesters) is nobody wants to hurt each other anymore, right?” To Trump, is keeping the peace just another form of political correctness?
This candidate must own what he says. All the comments above are verbatim. If you doubt it, check out the Times video. Trump is free to speak his mind, but as a candidate for the nation’s highest office he is responsible if his supporters lash out at others after he has encouraged that.
It is a crime to incite people to violence. For now, Trump’s hateful rhetoric is a winning campaign tactic. If he gets to the White House, it will make losers of us all.