Democrats using terms such as “fascists” to describe President Donald Trump and his allies are employing a smear tactic that will backfire, according to Republican strategists.
A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 2 out of 3 Americans believe that the harsh rhetoric used in talking about politics is encouraging violence. The survey was conducted in the days following the Sept. 10 killing of Turning Point USA CEO Charlie Kirk.
On Wednesday, a shooter with a rifle opened fire from a nearby roof on to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement location in Dallas, killing a detainee and wounding two critically before taking his own life, authorities said.
Then on Sunday, a former Marine smashed a pickup truck into a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints church in Michigan, opened fire, and set the building ablaze during a crowded Sunday service before being fatally shot by police. At least four people were killed and eight wounded, and authorities were searching the building ruins for more victims.
Despite such violence, Democrats have not toned down their language.
“They are inciting crazy people to do crazy things through their very words,” Republican strategist Dennis Lennox said, the Washington Examiner reported. “Democrats aren’t going to win next year [in the midterms] by pouring gasoline on the fire.”
Greg Manz, another GOP strategist, agreed with Lennox.
“Their history, especially during the Biden administration, is riddled with censoring free speech and weaponizing the government,” Manz told the Examiner. “Now they stand idle as law enforcement faces surging assaults. This smear tactic won’t stick; it’ll backfire.”
The National Republican Congressional Committee on Sept. 17 cited polling showing liberals are likelier than conservatives to say political violence is “sometimes justified.”
“For far too long, Democrats have excused riots, smeared conservatives as ‘fascists,’ and winked at violent rhetoric from their own ranks,” spokesman Mike Marinella said. “Now the numbers prove it: The Left has normalized hate and turned political violence into just another talking point.”
Various Democrats have chosen to use the extreme comparison when talking about Trump and his administration.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris last week compared Trump and his allies to “a communist dictatorship” for trying to end dissent.
At a recent press conference, Democrat lawmakers verbally attacked the administration after ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show indefinitely following comments the host made about Kirk’s killing.
“Fascism is not on the way. It is here,” Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., said at the event, the Examiner reported. “The First Amendment is how generations of Americans, from civil rights activists to labor organizers, American workers, LGBTQ+ activists, have fought for progress, and it is our power.”
During a recent House Oversight Committee hearing, Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., said, “We need to stand up against this fascist takeover. That’s not a bad word; it’s a fact.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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