The pro-Trump group "Cowboys for Trump" recently tweeted a video of their founder Couy Griffin giving a speech in which he stated "the only good Democrat is a dead Democrat."
President Trump retweeted the threat.
You can watch the video Trump retweeted here:
In his retweet, Trump thanked the group for their threatening support.
On Twitter, the backlash against Trump amplifying this dangerous rhetoric was immediate.
Americans shouldn't feel like their President would prefer them dead.
It's going to be tough for Trump to win the upcoming election while saying half the country ought to die.
Griffin later gave an interview to The Daily Beast in which he said his speech wasn't meant to be taken literally.
"I guess I need to be more careful when I choose the words that I speak. But you know, it's just so hypocritical of the left how they're blowing this up, like I'm some hate-speech murderer."
Moments later in the same interview, however, Griffin once again called for the death of Democrats, saying:
"[Democrat Governors] could be guilty of treason and the punishment that comes with it...You get to pick your poison: You either go before a firing squad, or you get the end of the rope."
The President seems to love free speech when it's directed against his enemies, but abhors it when it applies to him.
Though the vast majority of Trump supporters would never act on Trump's tacit support of violence, rhetoric like this could inspire the most unstable members of our society to act on their worst impulses.
The President seems unable to stop telling Americans that his devotion stems entirely from whether or not you support his every whim and action.
Even those who agree with him should find this dangerous.
Hopefully voters remember this incident come November.
