Culture Wars/Current Controversies

Trump Is a Threat to Democracy. Saying So Is Not Incitement

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Ryan Routh recently wrote, “I get so tired of people asking me if I am a Democrat or Republican as I refuse to be put in a category.” His ultimate cause was fighting what he believed was evil, whether it was in Ukraine, where he lived briefly as a volunteer soldier, or somewhere between the fifth and six holes of the Trump International Golf Club, where authorities say he pointed a rifle as Trump played a round on Sunday. Immediately after Routh’s arrest, pro-Trump commentators blamed Democrats and the media for his actions, arguing that describing Trump as a threat to democracy is tantamount to incitement to murder and should be out of bounds. “It is a purely cynical attempt to foam the runway for the election of a dangerous man,” Jonathan Chait writes in this defense of criticizing the former president. The attempt on Trump’s life does not change the fact that he tried to overturn the last election and will not commit to peacefully accepting another loss.

—Justin Miller, deputy editor, Intelligencer

Donald Trump Is a Threat to Democracy, and Saying So Is Not Incitement Opposing political violence does not mean ignoring authoritarianism.

Photo-Illustration: Intelligencer; Photo: Brent Stirton/Getty Images
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Categories: Culture Wars/Current Controversies, Electoralism/Democratism

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