On Wednesday, The Washington Post editorial board excoriated Republicans for enabling President Donald Trump's attacks on the election process — and warned that the GOP needs to course correct "before people get hurt."
Indeed, wrote the board, threats of violence are already bubbling up.
"Armed 'protesters' menaced Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D) and her family in their home over the weekend," wrote the board. "'Someone’s going to get killed,' said Gabriel Sterling, a senior Georgia election official, as he detailed last week the death threats he and others have received. Yet, Mr. Trump continues to pour gasoline on the fire, tweeting Wednesday that 'We will soon be learning about the word "courage", and saving our Country.' Kim Ward, the majority leader of the Pennsylvania state Senate, told the New York Times that if she refused to cooperate with efforts to challenge the election result, 'I'd get my house bombed tonight.'"
None of this is a coincidence, wrote the board — the blame lies with the GOP for allowing Trump's supporters to believe lies that the election is being stolen from them,
"Republicans across the country, from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) down to county GOP chairs, are inflaming them with their encouragement or their acquiescence," wrote the board. "Violence seems ever more possible when President-elect Joe Biden’s victory becomes official — if not before. Short of that, Mr. Trump is creating a new playbook for failed candidates: Rile the base; delegitimize your opponent’s victory; pressure state officials to flip the results. This strategy could be far more potent in a closer election. It threatens the foundations of U.S. democracy."
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