When Trump 'jokes' about political violence, he should consider who might be listening

Bob Gabordi, FLORIDA TODAY | Florida Today

Show Caption Hide Caption President Trump praises Montana lawmaker who body slammed reporter President Donald Trump, speaking at a rally in Montana, praised Republican Rep. Greg Gianforte who body slammed a reporter last year, saying the lawmaker was "my guy."

The following is political commentary and opinion:

It was Election Night 1968. I was 12 years old and paying attention to politics for the first time.

That was the year Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. were assassinated and riots broke out in Washington, D.C., Chicago, Baltimore and Detroit, among other cities.

You almost had to pay attention. The Democratic Party was breaking apart, with Southern Democrats supporting third-party candidate Alabama Gov. George Wallace, a former Democrat, for president against Democrat Hubert H. Humphrey and Republican Richard M. Nixon.

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The funny thing was, Nixon would have won the presidency even if every person who voted for Wallace had voted for Humphrey. Nixon received 301 Electoral College votes to 237 for Humphrey and Wallace combined. But Humphrey and Wallace combined had 40,804,528 popular votes to just 31,783,783 for Nixon.

It was how I learned the popular vote didn't matter much.

Eventually, I majored in political studies in college. My first job out of college was working for the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in Rhode Island.

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Now, I’m a 40-year-veteran newsman who avoids watching live TV to skip the political ads. I record sports and my favorite shows to watch them later, so I can fast-forward through the political advertising. It’s gotten to the point that, in off hours, I’d rather watch The Weather Channel than any of the major news programs.

Maybe I’ve just seen too much too close for too long, but I never thought I would see some of this.

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The president of the United States, Donald Trump, in stumping for the re-election of U.S. Rep. Greg Gianforte, R-Montana, the other day seemed to make light of Gianforte’s physical attack on a reporter.

Hear President Trump's remarks on this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwiaCUUScqc

Gianforte pleaded guilty to the May 2017 charge of misdemeanor assault. According to The Associated Press, he paid a $385 fine, completed 40 hours of community service, 20 hours of anger-management training, wrote an apology and donated $50,000 to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

In other words, the congressman did the right things and deserves credit for owning his criminal behavior.

But attacking a reporter doing his job is nothing to make light of by the president, nor is it to be justified by saying, well, the Democrats have advocated violence, too.

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To begin with, all that proves is both sides are clueless about how America is supposed to work. We are supposed to defend the rights of people we disagree with to speak out. We shouldn't verbally or, good Lord, physically, intimidate and attack them.

Further, given the totality of President Trump’s behavior toward journalists — labeling them (us) the enemy of the people, among other things — there is nothing funny about what the president said or the crowd’s reaction.

“Greg is smart,” the president said. “By the way, never wrestle him. Any guy that can do a body slam ... he's my guy," he said.

The crowd cheered and laughed.

Steve Scalise, officers shot at congressional baseball practice House Majority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana was shot Wednesday at a congressional baseball practice in Alexandria, Va., congressional officials say. (June 14)

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Louisiana Congressman Steve Scalise, who was shot by a left-wing nut simply because Scalise is a Republican, defended the president as "clearly joking."

Scalise is one of the good guys in Congress. He came to the Panhandle last week to help serve meals to Hurricane Michael victims. Scalise and others spoke out against an angry mob that confronted and intimidated Democrat House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi in Miami last week.

He also has been critical of former Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., who seemed to advocate violence when he said earlier this month: “When they go low, we kick 'em. That’s what this new Democratic Party is about."

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Scalise has spoken out against those who advocate violence from any side, but he misses the point on this one.

CNN White House reporter Jim Acosta tweeted after the event: “I saw one young man in the crowd making body slam gestures. He looked at me and ran his thumb across his throat.”

No big deal, right? Just a young guy feeling his oats, having a little fun, probably just being playful. Probably.

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In any case, America will survive this. After all, my generation survived incredibly bad role models in the White House in Nixon and Bill Clinton, to name just two.

Then again, I wonder how much of what is going on in politics across the nation now is owed to the behavior of presidents like those two and what that says about the influence on all the young men and women in all the crowds across America.

Maybe, if you are president of the United States and making a joke, you ought to consider what impact you might have on a 12-year-old who might be listening and paying attention to politics for the first time.

If we truly reap what we sow, I fear we’re in for a bumpy ride.

Gabordi is executive editor at FLORIDA TODAY. His direct dial number is 321-242-3607 and cell phone is 850-591-2229. He is @bgabordi on Twitter and /bgabordi on Facebook. You can also find him on LinkedIn. His email address is bgabordi@floridatoday.com.

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