At the memorial service to honor Charlie Kirk, his widow, Erika Kirk, forgave the man who killed her husband, telling attendees, “The answer to hate is not hate.”
Soon after, Donald Trump addressed the same audience and emphasized a related point, insisting that the slain conservative activist “didn’t hate his opponents.” At that point, however, the president apparently thought it’d be a good idea to reject the underlying principle.
“That’s where I disagreed with Charlie,” Trump said. “I hate my opponent, and I don’t want the best for them. I’m sorry. I am sorry, Erika.”
Three days later, JD Vance pitched the idea that the president didn’t fully mean what the world heard him say. HuffPost reported:
Vice President JD Vance, a friend of slain right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, has claimed that President Donald Trump was ‘joking’ when he ranted about hating his opponents during Kirk’s memorial.
“Well, I think the president was joking,” the vice president told Nexstar’s Reshad Hudson, adding, “I think it’s interesting, if you go back and watch the full speech, what the president was trying to do, in this very humorous and very unique way, was highlight how hard it is for us to forgive our enemies.”
Ah, I see. People heard Trump’s comments, but they didn’t pick up on the subtleties of the president’s sly comedic stylings. He’s quite the jokester, though many of us apparently fail to appreciate the nuances of his sophisticated and “very humorous” witticisms.
Or, alternatively, Trump wasn’t kidding.
I won’t pretend to be able to read the president’s mind, but if he was kidding on Sunday about his hatred for his political foes, Trump is clearly committed to the bit.
In July, after whining about congressional Democrats voting against the GOP’s domestic policy megabill, Trump told an Iowa audience, “They wouldn’t vote only because they hate Trump, but I hate them, too, you know? I really do. I hate them. I cannot stand them.” There was nothing about his tone or delivery that suggested this was an attempt at humor.
Two weeks later, at a White House Faith Office luncheon, the president went even further, condemning Democrats as “evil people.” All of this dovetailed with Trump telling Americans that his political opponents are “fascists,” who are also guilty of “treason.” His domestic foes, the president has added, are also “enemies of the people,” “the enemy within” and “threats to democracy.” It was against this backdrop that, at the memorial service, Trump appeared to speak candidly, declaring that he “hates” his political opposition and doesn’t want what’s best for them. I understand why Vance peddled an obviously absurd line about the president “joking.” In the American tradition, elected leaders have never voiced public “hatred” for those who dare to disagree with them. His repeated references to his contempt for other Americans are reminders that Trump apparently sees himself as the head of “Red America,” not the president of the whole country. And despite the vice president’s woeful attempt at spin, there’s nothing funny about this.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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