I have many criticisms of President Trump, yet trying to blame him for the actions of a few deranged white nationalists seems more than a stretch; it’s borderline dishonest…
US District Judge David Hale has given the green light for a lawsuit against President Trump and two of his “supporters.” Hale ruled out the argument that the two supporters were agents acting directly on the behalf of or at the command of President Trump. However, the judge believes that President Trump’s strong words on the campaign trail may have incited a riot. Hale thus denied a motion by the defendants to strike down the lawsuit.
On March 1st of 2016, Molly Shah, Kashiya Nwanguma, and Henry Brousseau attended a Trump rally with the intent of disrupting and protesting then-candidate Trump. Multiple reports indicate that Nwanguma was carrying a sign with Trump on a pig’s body. Trump was speaking at the Kentucky International Convention Center at the time and remarked that someone should “get them out of here.”
After Trump asked for them to be removed, a white nationalist named Matthew Heimbach and a Trump supporter named Alvin Bamberger attacked the trio. The two were criminally charged, and now the protesters have alleged that then-candidate Trump incited a riot, acted negligently, committed gross negligence, and also acted recklessly. The protesters are now seeking civil damages from Trump and the men who attacked them.
While I am personally a strong proponent of free speech, it’s not hard to envision why rally attendees would be upset at the Trump pig sign and why Trump asked them to be removed. I wouldn’t have blamed Sanders or Clinton or anyone other candidate for asking the same. Rallies are for supporters to hear from their candidates. While I agree with free speech, there are limits. Trump’s supporters had a right to hear from their candidate. The protests, meanwhile, should have taken place outside or elsewhere.
If anyone acted “negligently,” it would have been security officials who failed to safely escort the protesters out of the rally. Trump never called for the protesters to be hurt, only removed. Anyone who assaulted the trio certainly deserves to be charged, but blaming Trump for their rogue actions seems like a witch hunt.
There’s no denying the heightened tensions across the country right now. And it appears to be true that white nationalists have been drawn toward Trump and his platform. However, Trump himself has denounced such individuals and the people they represent. Some of Trump’s words are indeed bombastic, and yet many Americans sick of “political” talk have gravitated toward those blunt words, and for good reason.
Most of us have heard political talk for years upon years. Many of us can recognize when Hillary Clinton and other politicians are intentionally trying to dance with their words. And many of us are sick of it. Not just conservatives either—progressive Bernie Sanders was blunt with his words, and he found a lot of support among the blue and middle class Americans that Clinton lost.
I have many criticisms of President Trump, yet trying to blame him for the actions of a few deranged white nationalists seems more than a stretch; it’s borderline dishonest, at least. We as a country need to move beyond these political shenanigans and focus on concrete policies and ideas. If you have honest data- or reality-driven critics, bring them forward, but we need to move beyond all the “fake” news and focus on the challenges in front of us.
Brian Brinker is an OpsLens Contributor and political consultant. Brinker has an M.A in Global Affairs from American University.
