The President made this climate: Cesar Sayoc is solely responsible for his actions, but...

[Formerly Once-Ler]

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/ny-oped-the-president-made-this-climate-20181026-story.html

The President made this climate: Cesar Sayoc is solely responsible for his actions, but stop sidestepping what Trump has done to American rhetoric
By Tom Nichols

...
There is a difference, however. Unlike Sanders, the President has for years been holding emotionally charged rallies at which he has used violence as a joke.

Sanders immediately denounced the Scalise shooter. The President’s denunciation of the bomber, by comparison, was a rote teleprompter exercise — his wife spoke first — and his calls for unity were undermined within hours by his use of “bombs” in scare quotes and his return to his own wounded complaints about how the media treats him.

We are told that the President’s supporters take him seriously, but not literally. Apparently, at least some of his base takes him quite literally, which should not be a surprise when an entire complex of political and media enablers around Trump do nothing but feed a constant stream of disinformation and outright craziness into the American public square.

Today, fully formed conspiracy theories about “fake news” and “the deep state” are delivered directly to millions of Americans by the White House, a phalanx of supportive internet sites, and the mothership of hot crazy known as “Fox News’ prime-time lineup.” (As one Twitter wag put it, Sayoc’s van “looks like how Jeannie Pirro’s show sounds.”)

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[mountaineer]

Blaming Trump, GOP could backfire for Dems
Joe Battenfeld
Saturday, October 27, 2018

Democrats are hoping the arrest of alleged political pipe bomber Cesar Sayoc becomes an explosive “October surprise” that propels their voters to the polls and turns the midterm election in their favor.

Sayoc, an avid supporter of President Trump, could not have been cast any better by Democrats. He had a van plastered with Trump stickers and anti-Hillary Clinton images and seems to be the perfect Republican villain.   ...

Now that we know Sayoc is the alleged pipe bomber, the ramifications are clear — Democrats now have an issue to tie Republicans to the plot.  But whether they succeed at blaming Republicans remains to be seen.

The arrest comes 11 days before the midterm election, and there’s plenty of time for a new story to come along and replace the bomber narrative. And Democrats have to be careful not to overplay their hand because some voters may find it offensive to try and gain political advantage over a bombing plot.  ... Boston Herald