Reflecting on the amplified rhetoric in American politics, Representative Jared Golden (D-ME) drafted a lengthy thread about it over X – urging members of Congress to stop branding their opponents as fascists.
Publicly known for his political fragility, the congressman voiced to X a worry about where he sees the nation heading and said that shepherds must guide America back on course.
“We can start by dropping hyperbolic threats about the stakes of this election,” he wrote. “It should not be misleadingly portrayed as a struggle between democracy or authoritarianism or a battle against fascists or socialists bent on destroying America. These are dangerous lies.”
Meanwhile, and connected to this latest event, former President Trump was likely targeted in an assassination attempt at his rally on Saturday night in Butler, Pennsylvania. It was reported that gunshots were heard at approximately 6:00 pm during Trump’s speech. Trump’s right ear and face were streaked with blood as Secret Service agents quickly hustled him off the stage.
Trump was treated for an ear wound at a hospital in the area and returned later to his New Jersey residence. Four individuals were wounded in the attack and, besides a gunman, one spectator died.
As word of Trump’s tweet spread, lawmakers quickly issued statements offering wishes for the safety of him and attendees.
“Following the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump, we must ask ourselves questions about the future of our country and what we want for ourselves and our children,” Golden wrote on X in a 10-part thread.
“In the pursuit of short-term political gain, they are eager to exaggerate our differences and cast their political opponents as diabolical caricatures bent on destroying the country,” he said in reference to those leading the country.
Per the lawmaker, “The result is an overwhelming sense of fear & anxiety about the future of our country, where the normal and tested tools of democracy no longer seem adequate to protect the common good. In this light, a rise of politically motivated violence in America is sadly unsurprising.”
Goldin has said that continuing on this path will be disastrous for Americans, adding that the hyperbole must end and criticized the tendency of political rivals to paint each other as fascists-authoritarians, and socialists.
