'Surge in political violence' overwhelming America under Trump: NY Times editorial board
Reporters knew that Saturday, June 14 would be a busy, hectic news days in the United States, between President Donald Trump's military/birthday parade and the more than 2000 No Kings protests held in opposition to it. But June 14 turned out to be even more intense than expected when the news broke that two state lawmakers in Minnesota, both Democrats, had been shot by an extremist who convincingly impersonated a police officer.
Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman was killed, while State Sen. John A. Hoffman underwent surgery and survived. The suspected shooter, Vance Boelter, is reportedly a Donald Trump supporter with far-right Christian nationalist views.
In an editorial published on June 20, the New York Times' editorial board points to the Hortman/Hoffman shootings as evidence that "political violence" is becoming much too normalized in the United States.
"The surge in political violence during the Trump years has imperiled not only American lives, but also, our country's collective memory," the Times board laments. "The details of a new atrocity overwrite the old. Even the names of the fallen evade our best efforts to retain them…. Before the next act of political violence seizes our attention, let us pause and preserve in memory Melissa Hortman, a member of the Minnesota State Legislature, and her husband, Mark."
The board continues, "The couple became the latest casualties of our nihilistic politics on Saturday after a gunman killed them in their home, authorities say."
The Times writers note that "the Minnesota attacks join a grim catalog of political violence in recent years."
"In 2017, a gunman shot four people, badly wounding Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, at a Republican practice before the annual congressional baseball game," the board observes. "On January 6, 2021, hundreds of rioters attacked Congress as it was meeting to certify the presidential election result. In 2022 an attacker broke into Nancy Pelosi's home and fractured the skull of her husband, Paul, with a hammer. Last year, two would-be assassins separately tried to kill Donald Trump. In April, a man set fire to the home of Gov. Josh Shapiro while he and his family slept inside."
The fact that "fear has become a fact of life for politicians" in the U.S., according to the Times board, was evident when former Pennsylvania House Speaker Mark Rozzi started wearing a bulletproof vest.
"Although Mr. Trump has been a personal victim of this violence, he also deserves particular responsibility for our angry culture," the Times board argues. "He uses threatening language in ways that no other modern president has. He praises people who commit violence in his name, such as the January 6 rioters — many of whom he has pardoned, despite their attacks on police officers and others. He sometimes seems incapable of extending basic decency to Democrats."
The board adds, "Instead of calling Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota to express condolences about the killings of two of his friends, Mr. Trump insulted Mr. Walz. It is no coincidence that hate crimes have surged, according to the FBI, during Mr. Trump's decade as a dominant political figure."
