Trump’s words turn violent as pressure on him builds

Why it matters: Since he left office, Trump’s erratic behavior has been masked, numbed and normalized by the political fatigue permeating the media and the public.

  • But his words’ violent turn in recent weeks — calling for a U.S. military leader to be executed, mocking a potentially fatal assault on a congressional spouse, urging police to shoot shoplifters — suggest a line has been crossed.
  • On Tuesday, Judge Arthur Engoron, who’s presiding over Trump’s civil fraud trial in New York, imposed a gag order on Trump after the defendant attacked Engoron’s clerk online and posted a link to her Instagram account — while sitting in the same courtroom as her.

Zoom in: Political scientist Brian Klaas has coined it “the banality of crazy,” arguing that the press has wrongfully elevated concerns about President Biden’s age and frequent gaffes while downplaying Trump’s extremism.

  • Much of the public may not be aware of Trump’s darkening rhetoric, Klaas writes, but “the people most likely to be radicalized by him or to act on his incitement already hear him, loud and clear.”

In speeches, interviews and on social media in recent weeks, Trump:

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