Today in Politics, Bulletin 204. 9/11/25
… Right-wing politicians, media and influencers continue to fan the flames against “the Left” in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination. The inciter-in-chief posted a video last night: “For years, those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world’s worst criminals. This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we’re seeing in our country today. Radical left political violence has hurt too many innocent people and taken too many lives.”
… Trump made no mention of violent attacks against Democratic political figures or his own rhetoric over the past decade demonizing his political opponents by calling them Marxist, communists, baby killers who hate God, hate America, hate Christianity, want crime, steal elections, on and on and on. Nobody has injected more toxic and inflammatory rhetoric into the body politic of the US than Trump in this country’s history.
… After they emerged from budget talks, Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries were asked for their reaction to Trump blaming the left. Schumer: "Coming together is what we ought to be doing. Not pointing fingers of blame." Jeffries: "This moment requires leadership that brings the American people together as opposed to trying to further divide us."
… Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) was asked by a reporter if Democrats need to tone down their rhetoric: "Oh, please! Why don't you start with the president of the United States? And every ugly meme he's posted and every ugly word."
… Author and former Republican Jennifer Erin Valent: “The man who has stoked more strife and violence than any politician in my lifetime is using this tragedy to stir up more strife and violence. My friends, America is without moral leadership. We must join together to rise above and lead communally. We must be better than this.”
… Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) on CNN: "Actually calling for political violence - we're hearing that a lot from the right, right now. Democrats across the board are saying we need to come together. We need to turn down the rhetoric. Trump, who's just trying to blame this on Democrats, maybe he should start by rescinding the pardons for all the domestic terrorists who came to the Capitol on J6."
… Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) got into a shouting match with House Dems after a moment of silence was concluded on the House floor for Kirk, when she then insisted that a prayer be read. Democrats objected to that which caused Boebert to yell back, “silent prayers get silent results!” One Democrat (unknown) yelled back that a school shooting also happened that day but no Republican called for any prayers about that.
… Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI) has been unhinged pretty much nonstop: “This was the most disgusting moment I have witnessed on the House floor. House Democrats showed their true colors last night. You cannot claim to be a person of faith and associate yourself with that party without condemning that display.”
… The venom and vitriol from Republicans on social media yesterday and today was pretty vicious. I’m not going to quote all of it, but I did collect just these screen shots over a one hour time period from MAGA influencers and media to give you an idea of the kinds of things being said.
… Here are some quotes from elected officials or people with huge followings. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC): “Democrats own what happened today. Democrats embolden domestic terrorism. They want it. They like it. If they win they will dismantle our country and every God-given rights bestowed from our Creator.”
… Van Orden: “I am not sure these people understand what they have done. We are done letting the Brown Shirts terrorize us. The Gloves are Off. The Democratic Party has been fostering a 21st century Civil War. I would encourage them if you look at the results of the last one that they started.”
… Elon Musk: “The left is the party of murder. If they won’t leave us in peace, then our choice is to fight or die.”
… Eric Trump on Fox: "I'm sick and tired of seeing the bullets that are only going one way. When is there accountability from people who just foster this hate every single day?"
… Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK): “When are the Democrats going to stand up and apologize for the hatred and the lies that they have fed their base that has led to these actions?”
… Sean Hannity: “The left has given us 10 nonstop years of rage and hatred and a vile language. It is undeniable it is poisoning the minds of many people in our country.”
… Rep. Bob Onder (R-MO): “There is no longer any middle ground. Some on the American left are undoubtedly well-meaning people but their ideology is pure evil. They hate the good, the truth, and the beautiful, and embrace the evil, the false, and the ugly.”
… Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA): “I’m going to use Congressional authority and every influence with big tech platforms to mandate immediate ban for life of every post or commenter that belittled the assassination of Charlie Kirk. If they ran their mouth with their smartass hatred celebrating the heinous murder of that beautiful young man, those profiles must come down. So, I’m going to lean forward in this fight, demanding that big tech have zero tolerance for violent political hate content, the user to be banned from ALL PLATFORMS FOREVER.”
… Higgins: “I’m also going after their business licenses and permitting, their businesses will be blacklisted aggressively, they should be kicked from every school, and their drivers licenses should be revoked. I’m basically going to cancel with extreme prejudice these evil, sick animals who celebrated Kirk’s assassination. I’m starting that today. That is all.”
… There has been an ongoing, energetic, and organized effort from MAGA influencers to track down people who posted anything negative about Kirk after the shooting so they can contact their employers. Many people all over the country were fired today as a result of social media posts they made about Kirk.
… Scott Presler: “Find posts of every single teacher across America that celebrated Charlie Kirk’s assassination. Take screenshots. Take videos. Send us the evidence. I don’t care how long it takes. We will expose every single last one.”
… Alex Jones: "We're in a war."
… Steve Bannon: "Charlie Kirk is a casualty of war."
… Fox host Jesse Watters: "They are at war with us. What are we going to do about it? How much political violence are we going to tolerate?”
… Journalist covering media Matthew Keys: “After Jesse Watters declared ‘war’ on ‘them’ (progressives, the woke, etc.) during his broadcast, I rewatched the first episode of his show immediately after Democratic Sen. Melissa Hortman was assassinated. The first show did not cover Hortman's death. It covered the US Army birthday, anti-ICE protests and Trump's remarks on the Middle East. But not Hortman's assassination.”
… Stephen Miller: “There is an ideology that has steadily been growing in this country which hates everything that is good, righteous and beautiful and celebrates everything that is warped, twisted and depraved. It is an ideology at war with family and nature. It is envious, malicious, and soulless.”
… Christopher Rufo: “The last time the radical Left orchestrated a wave of violence and terror, J. Edgar Hoover shut it all down within a few years. It is time, within the confines of the law, to infiltrate, disrupt, arrest, and incarcerate all of those who are responsible for this chaos.”
… Mehdi Hasan: “Here are the actual facts for those with conveniently short memories.
The man who targeted and killed Democratic state lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark in their home in Minnesota in June was a Trump supporter.
The man charged with the attempted assassination of Pennsylvania’s Democratic governor, Josh Shapiro, in April was a Trump supporter.
The man convicted of orchestrating a series of hootings at the homes of four Democratic elected officials in New Mexico in 2022 was a Trump supporter.
The man who tried to kidnap then Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and assaulted her husband, Paul, in 2022 was a Trump supporter.
The men who wanted to hang Mike Pence on Jan 6, 2021, were Trump supporters.
The man who killed the son of Obama-appointed District Judge Esther Salas in 2020 was a Trump supporter.
The men who were convicted of trying to kidnap Michigan’s Democratic governor, Gretchen Whitmer, in 2020 were Trump supporters.
The man who sent pipe bombs to the homes of Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, and other top Democrats in 2018 was a Trump supporter.
The man who killed left-wing activist Heather Heyer after driving his car into a crowd of counter-protesters in Charlottesville in 2017 was a Trump supporter.”
… Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had troops assembled in uniform in formation and he addressed them with this political and religious message, which violates military regulations and guidelines: “We lost an incredible American today. His name is Charlie Kirk.” He then gave short speech to them about how wonderful Kirk was and asked them to bow their heads while he led them in a prayer for Kirk.
… At the 9/11 commemoration ceremony, Trump announced he will be awarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Kirk posthumously. He also appeared to fall asleep several times with the right side of his face drooping constantly.
… Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) posted a letter she sent to Speaker Mike Johnson: “I owe my entire political career to Charlie Kirk. I would quite literally not be in office today if it weren’t for him. Even when my own party was working against me, Charlie endorsed me and campaigned to help me win election. To honor this legacy, we call upon you to direct that a statue of Charlie Kirk be placed in the US Capitol.”
… Boebert and Rep. Marge Greene (R-GA) later signed on to Luna’s letter.
… A bipartisan law was passed overwhelmingly a long time ago mandating that a plaque be hung in the Capitol who honor the police officers who defended it on J6. Mike Johnson has steadfastly refused to comply with that law. We will see if Kirk gets a statue now.
… Former George W. Bush senior strategist Matthew Dowd was fired by MSNBC from his contributor position after Republicans were furious about his reaction on air right after Kirk was shot: “He’s been one of the most divisive, especially divisive younger figures in this, who is constantly sort of pushing this sort of hate speech or sort of aimed at certain groups. And I always go back to, hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions. And I think that is the environment we are in. You can’t stop with these sort of awful thoughts you have and then saying these awful words and not expect awful actions to take place. And that’s the unfortunate environment we are in.”
… Statement from MSNBC president Rebecca Kutler: “During our breaking news coverage of the shooting of Charlie Kirk, Matthew Dowd made comments that were inappropriate, insensitive and unacceptable. We apologize for his statements, as has he. There is no place for violence in America, political or otherwise."
… Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN): “Everyone at MSNBC needs to be fired.”
Thank you again for your excellent questions submitted for the Ask the Editor show last night. It is becoming more difficult each week to pick the 5 questions to answer because we are getting so many good ones. I appreciate each of you for supporting everything we do at Meidas.
… The heat is getting turned up on Kash Patel and Dan Bongino as the suspect inexplicably remains at large 36 hours later. NYT: “Hopes for the fast capture of the person who fatally shot the right-wing activist Charlie Kirk in UT evaporated when Kash Patel announced that the authorities had released a man he had described as a central subject of a multiagency manhunt.”
… “Two hours earlier, Patel had stoked expectations of a fast end to the search by congratulating state, local and federal officials for taking into custody ‘the subject for the horrific shooting today.’ The backtrack was a source of significant embarrassment for the FBI director on a day when 3 former FBI agents filed a lawsuit against Patel that portrayed him as a partisan neophyte more interested in social media, and swag,
