Trump and Vance decry Democrats’ rhetoric while ramping up their own

Donald Trump’s reaction to Sunday’s apparent assassination attempt on him has been to blame Democrats, baselessly insisting that the purported gunman was inspired by “the rhetoric of [President Joe] Biden and [Vice President Kamala] Harris.”

And in a social media post on Monday, Trump made it clear that while he wants everyone else to shut up, he intends to only ramp up his own vitriol. In that statement, Trump blamed “the Rhetoric, Lies, as exemplified by the false statements made by Comrade Kamala Harris during the rigged and highly partisan ABC Debate,” along with the court cases he is facing, for taking the country to “a whole new level of Hatred, Abuse, and Distrust.”

“Because of this Communist Left Rhetoric, the bullets are flying, and it will only get worse!” he added.

If this seems like the ultimate exercise in hypocrisy, it is. If it seems like an effort to muffle his opponents while he ramps up attacks … yes.