Trump's cherry-picked claims on political violence ignore his own rhetoric [View all]

Source: CNN

Trump’s cherry-picked claims on political violence ignore his own rhetoric

Updated Sep 15, 2025, 6:02 PM ET
PUBLISHED Sep 15, 2025, 4:52 PM ET
Analysis by Aaron Blake

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It’s valid to look for potential politics in the killer’s motivations. And there are pieces of evidence that link suspect Tyler Robinson to the left, even as the fuller picture is still being pieced together and remains opaque.

But Trump and his allies are cherry-picking evidence and misleading about recent violent episodes. They’re also casting stones from a glass house when it comes to the potential role of political rhetoric in such tragedies.

In fact, Trump has spent the last decade saying conspicuously violent things and often flirting with the prospect of justified violence by his supporters – including as recently as Friday.

The recent history of violent political episodes

The first thing to note is that Democratic figures have also been targeted by violence and the right wing has also risen in violence.

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Read more: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/09/15/politics/political-violence-trump-charlie-kirk