08/07/2025
Brent Molnar: Voice of Reason : â 'I Hate Them' : When Presidential Rhetoric Becomes a Loaded GunâŠ
Donald Trump didnât just cross a line on July 3 in Ohioâhe torched it, danced on the ashes, and dared the country to stop him. Standing in front of a flag-draped stage meant to celebrate America, he told the crowd exactly what he feels about Democrats:
âI hate them. I cannot stand them.â
No euphemisms. No dog whistles. Just raw, unfiltered hatred from the most powerful man in the country. And while the MAGA faithful cheered, the rest of us watched the fuse get shorter.
This isnât campaign bluster. Itâs a declaration of warâon half the country. And when the leader of a movement thatâs already armed to the teeth declares open, emotional hatred for his political opposition, we should all hear the guns cocking behind his words. Hate doesnât stay rhetorical for long. Especially not in 2025.
Just ask Minnesota. Just look at the headlines barely a week after that rally. A sitting Democrat and a state representative were shot. Not harassed. Not threatened. Shot.
And while the investigation unfolds, the context couldnât be clearer: a country whipped into a froth by rhetoric that paints political opponents not as wrongâbut as evil, dangerous, and disposable. âI hate themâ isnât a policy disagreement. Itâs a permission slip for the worst among us.
Because when you vilify one side of the political spectrum long enough, violence becomes inevitable. When you convince your base that Democrats are destroying America, âtaking actionâ stops being a metaphor.
They start showing up at school boards armed. They start posting manifestos. They start following politicians home. And sometimesâthey pull the trigger.
This is how political violence begins. Not with bullets, but with language. Not with explosions, but with rally cheers. And Trump knows it. Heâs not some clueless uncle ranting at Thanksgiving. Heâs the architect of this powder keg.
His words carry weight, and heâs using them to aim. Not to persuade, but to intimidate. Not to unify, but to threaten. And when the next representative is gunned down, or the next staffer stabbed in a parking lot, weâll be told again it was a âlone wolf.â But thatâs a lie. These wolves have a packâand a leader.
Itâs long past time to stop treating this as normal political discourse. Itâs not. Itâs stochastic terrorism. Itâs an incitement machine. And every Democrat, independent, and rational conservative who still believes in a functioning democracy needs to say it out loud: This evil man is trying to get people killed. Maybe not with his own handsâbut certainly with his mouth."
says 'I them' about in speech touting bill passageFor more context and news coverage of the most important stories of our day, click ...