A presidential historian has offered a blistering assessment of former President Donald Trump's role in influencing political violence and normalizing violent rhetoric.
On Friday, October 28, Michael Beschloss made an appearance on MSNBC’s “The Beat” where he weighed in on the assault of Paul Pelosi, the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). “We’re in a time where violence is licensed and encouraged by an ex-president of the United States,” Beschloss said during the broadcast.
“An awful lot of people are encouraged by a former president to think the way you get your political goals — which may be an authoritarian, even fascist, society — is by encouraging violence,” he added. “That’s the climate we’re in.”
Paul Pelosi's attack has caused quite a stir as reports suggest it is politically motivated. Per HuffPost, "Suspect David DePape was after Speaker Pelosi, who was not at the San Francisco home at the time, according to a source briefed on the attack. The Republican Party has long demonized Pelosi in comments and political ads."
Reports have also indicated that DePape has a history of circulating conspiracy theories. Speaking along the same lines, MSNBC’s Katie Phang also spoke during the segment and emphasized that threats against politicians are at an all-time high.
On Friday, per the news outlet, authorities also indicated that "U.S. Capitol Police launched investigations into 1,820 threats and concerning statements in just the first three months of this year."
Speaking to Phang, Beschloss also chimed in saying, “You and I look at the 45 presidents of the United States ― all but about one have taken it seriously that part of their job was preserving public safety."
“Once again, Donald Trump as an ex-president and a president is in a dark category of his own,” Beschloss added. He said Trump “encouraged violence at his rallies” beginning back in 2015 during his campaign, and “did this periodically as president of the United States.”
Phang also highlighted remarks from presidential historian Jon Meacham where he issued a stern warning.
“One of the marks of the end of a republic is the normalization of political violence,” Meacham said during an appearance on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports.” on Friday. “It just is. And everybody needs to remember, including us, that what we say matters, that words have consequences, and that things that seem improbable one hour can happen in the next.”
“Violent acts can change history,” he added. “And a mature democratic society ― lowercase ‘d’ ― has to have a way where we mediate our political differences without political violence.”
Watch the video below or at this link.