Quote of the Day

[Saturday’s attempted assassination of Donald Trump] . . . is an affront to human decency and an offense to both criminal law and the norms of constitutional democracy.

But we must not forget that it is Trump himself whose entire political “brand” centers on public cruelty, appeals to violence, and a relentless assault on the norms of democracy.

He is the unfortunate victim of an awful crime committed by a crazed gunman.

But it is beyond absurd to cast him as a victim of a widespread hatred of constitutional democracy. For nobody has done more than Trump to delegitimize and destroy constitutional democracy in this country. He is no martyr of popular government. And it is more urgent now than ever that the threats posed by his rhetoric and his political vision be criticized, and that he be defeated at the voting booth this November.

– Jeffrey C. Isaac
Excerpted from “More Dangerous Than Ever,
Trump and the GOP Must Be Defeated
at the Ballot Box”
Common Dreams
July 16, 2024

Related Off-site Links:
Jeff Sharlet on Trump Assassination Attempt, Authoritarian Violence, and Project 2025 – Democracy Now! (July 15, 2024).
“Violence Has No Place in American Life.” Except, Like, Everywhere You Look – Jeffrey C. Isaac (Common Dreams, July 16, 2024).
Assassination Attempt Does Not Change Fact That Trump Is a Threat to Democracy – Julie Hollar (Common Dreams, July 17, 2024).

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• Robert Reich: Quote of the Day – July 14, 2024
• Will We Let Fascism Come to America?
• Chauncey Devega on the Ongoing Danger of the Trump Cult
• Donald Trump’s Open and Shameless Criminality
• Insurrection at the United States Capitol
• Trump’s Legacy
• Republicans Don’t Care About American Democracy
• Progressive Perspectives on Trump’s Supreme Court Nominee, Amy Coney Barrett
• “We Have an Emergency On Our Hands”: Marianne Williamson On the “Freefall” of American Democracy
• “Fascism Is Upon Us”
• Laura Bassett: Quote of the Day – October 5, 2018
• Insightful Perspectives on the Kavanaugh/Ford Hearing
• Adam Serwer: Quote of the Day – May 23, 2018
• On International Human Rights Day, Saying “No” to Donald Trump and His Fascist Agenda
• Progressive Perspectives on the Election of Donald Trump as President of the United States
• Progressive Perspectives on the Rise of Donald Trump

Image: Kristen Solberg.