Donald Trump lives by the sword
He has not yet died by it
Writing of a “rise” in left-wing violence, including, apparently, yet another assassination attempt on Donald Trump, Peter Hamby writes that “[t]he problem is a new generation of podcasters, blue clout-chasers, and TikTok commenters who have overtaken the mainstream media not just as purveyors of facts, but as self-appointed brokers of common decency. Like anyone who spends too much time online, slowly drained of human empathy, many on the left have become too comfortable celebrating violence or bad luck that befalls their Trumpian enemies. They are too loose with their language, too cozy with conspiracies that can lead to a dark place.”[1]
This is something, as Hamby, who was in the ballroom at the time of the attempt, fails to fully acknowledge, of a false equivalence. Right-wing violence, including the Oklahoma City bombing, and attacks on abortion providers are longstanding. Even the atrocities that have been committed against the right by the government had something to do with the quantities of arms those groups had accumulated.
Hamby at least sticks to decrying political violence. But the right has indeed moved awfully swiftly to citing the shooting as justification for Trump’s ballroom and funding for the Department of Homeland Security which has been tied up in Congress due to Immigration and Customs Enforcement [ICE] and Customs and Border Patrol [CBP] violence not just against unauthorized migrants but even U.S. citizens.[2] Hamby neglects to count that as political violence.
The simple truth is that Donald Trump declared war on U.S. cities[3] —on the U.S. people. He sent in the National Guard. He sent in ICE and CBP. He excused the violence these forces committed. And his rhetoric against “left wing radicals” has been persistent.
Political violence, or the threat thereof, is a political tool. Trump has wielded it for political advantage. He lives by the sword. He has not yet died by it. But we should not be surprised if he does.
[1] Peter Hamby, “An American Sickness,” Puck, April 27, 2026, https://puck.news/how-the-left-lost-the-moral-high-ground-on-political-violence/
[2] Jack Blanchard with Dasha Burns and Adam Wren, “‘Can this really be happening? Again?’” Politico, April 26, 2026, https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2026/04/26/can-this-really-be-happening-again-00892125
[3] David Benfell, “What if this is all out war?” Not Housebroken, October 6, 2025, https://www.disunitedstates.org/p/what-if-this-is-all-out-war