The State of Political Discourse

Author

Bubba
17 Sep

Writer and political commenter Rob Henderson’s new essay about the “weaponization” of anger is particularly well-timed following a second assassination attempt on Donald Trump. (Rob Henderson’s Newsletter)

The argument: Citing multiple statistics and surveys, Henderson makes the case that the “strategic use of anger in politics has transformed it from a natural human emotion into a weapon of division, with far-reaching consequences for our social cohesion and democratic governance.”

  • 84% of Americans believe people today are angrier than previous generations, according to a CBS News poll.

  • A recent survey found 90% of Americans can name a recent political or news event that made them angry, while only 50% could name something that made them proud.

  • A 2017 study found that using negative words like "attack" or "blame" on Twitter boosted the chances of posts being shared by 20%.

The latest: Each side is accusing the other of fueling the attempted assassination of Trump on Sunday, when a gunman was discovered near the bushes at Trump International in West Palm Beach, where the former president was golfing.

  • Trump: “[President Biden and Kamala Harris’] rhetoric is causing me to be shot at, when I am the one who is going to save the country, and they are the ones that are destroying the country — both from the inside and out."

  • NBC News anchor Lester Holt: “Today's apparent assassination attempt comes amid increasingly fierce rhetoric on the campaign trail. Mr. Trump, his running mate JD Vance, continue to make baseless claims about Haitian immigrants in Ohio.”

But wait, there’s more: Others joined Holt in slamming Trump.

All-In podcast co-host Jason Calacanis:

Bubba’s Two Cents

Politics is so wild and chaotic these days, it almost seems like a bad dream. I say this as someone who thinks Trump’s rhetoric has often been incendiary: when your political opponent goes through two assassination attempts in just a matter of months, you probably need to do some deep soul-searching. And that goes double for the media, which pretty much forgot the first attempt on Trump’s life in a matter of weeks.