How Trump’s 'fascination' with violence led to 'unhinged Republican behavior': expert

A former federal prosecutor is arguing that the recent spate of violent and aggressive behavior seen in the halls of Congress is a byproduct of former President Donald Trump's belligerent brand of politics.

Writing for The Bulwark, Dennis Aftergut — a former assistant US Attorney for the Northern District of California — made the case that journalists shouldn't be afraid to link Trump's bellicose rhetoric to Republicans' increasingly hostile demeanor. Aftergut pointed to former Speaker Kevin McCarthy's (R-CA) "sucker-elbow" of Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) in a U.S. Capitol hallway and Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) attempting to fight International Brotherhood of Teamsters president Sean O'Brien in a Senate hearing as examples.

"Before Tuesday’s unhinged Republican behavior recedes from memory, it’s worth emphasizing one aspect of it that has been underappreciated in the press coverage: that it didn’t happen in a void, but rather fits into larger patterns in the world of Donald Trump," Aftergut wrote.

"Time and again, Trump has issued permission slips to those who practice violence. His fascination with the use of force, including by violent militias like the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys, is well documented. Tuesday’s events can only really be understood in that larger context of Trump and violence."

Aftergut wrote that Trump has made political violence a part of his brand. He underscored this by pointing to Trump encouraging his supporters to carry out acts of violence against protesters at his rallies, referring to violent white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia as "very fine people" in his first year as president, and his "three hours of diddling" while a crowd of his supporters ransacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, attacked police officers, and chanted "hang Mike Pence."

"ALL OF THESE TRUMPIAN MOMENTS — and countless others one could name — create an environment in which political violence becomes acceptable, and in which it’s okay to coldcock someone you don’t like in a Capitol hallway or to challenge an adversary to put up his dukes in a hearing room of what was once known as the world’s 'greatest deliberative body,'" Aftergut wrote.

"There is no reason to think we won’t see more such political pugnacity on the right as the 2024 campaign continues. Journalists should not be shy about connecting the dots between the vile words of Trump and the violent actions of his Republican followers."

In his essay, Aftergut made the observation that Congress hasn't seen such acts of violence among its members since a pro-slavery senator's brutal caning attack on an abolitionist colleague in the years leading up to the Civil War. Aftergut pointed out that Mullin appeared to endorse the caning attack in a candid interview following his outburst in the Senate. He also warned that "normalizing small acts of political violence can create the climate for big ones."

Read Aftergut's full essay here.