Donald Trump’s campaign for the White House took a violent turn last weekend.
On Friday, a large number of far-left protesters were able to infiltrate and disrupt a Trump rally in Chicago. The Donald decided to cancel the event, and the cheers of “we shut shit down!” from the demonstrators drew an aggressive response from pro-Trump attendees. Cable networks captured fights breaking out on the floor of the arena as commentators expressed dismay over America’s social turmoil playing out in real time. (RELATED: Here Are The Radical Leftist Anti-Trump Groups Behind The Chicago Protest)
The chaos of Friday bled into Saturday, as a raucous Ohio rally Trump was able to speak at was momentarily disrupted by a 210-pound man charging for The Donald. The Republican front-runner, however, kept on speaking after the man was subdued by Secret Service and the event went on as planned.
So with all of these Trump events attracting violence from leftist loons, you’d think the media would place the blame on the groups and individuals that celebrate disrupting these rallies, right?
Wrong.
According to the chattering class consensus, it’s all Mr. Trump’s fault. The left-wing activists who prevented free assembly and spat at their fellow citizens for holding a different opinion are being turned into heroes. Even the guy who charged at Trump was transformed from a man seeking violence to a good-hearted soul seeking justice.
CNN offered Tommy DiMassimo, the Ohio disrupter, the softest of softball interviews Sunday in which the charger was allowed to claim he just wanted to take the microphone away from Trump to say the candidate was a racist. The CNN interviewer nodded along as he allowed a man who calls for violent revolution on Twitter to present himself as a peace-loving protester trying to save America from a dictatorship. (RELATED: Man Who Rushed Stage At Trump Rally Is Bernie Supporter Who Did It Because ‘Trump’s A Bully’)
This journalistic embarrassment came after adoring reports on the “very courageous” Chicago protesters — one of whom was notorious Weatherman terrorist Bill Ayers — who violently shut down an event over a difference of opinion. It also followed some anti-Trump conservatives and Ted Cruz throwing good sense to the wind and showing sympathy with the speech suppression crowd in Chicago. Guess “the enemy of my enemy is my friend even though they hate me too” is the logic there.
The CNN interview of DiMassimo alone proves the mainstream media will coddle illegality and violence if it comes from the right ideological persuasion. The whole week prior to Chicago had the media honing in on “Trump rally violence” and creating the assumption The Donald was creating an atmosphere fit for a German beer hall in the 1920s. Of course there’s been a few shameful incidents at the Republican front-runner’s rallies, but as someone who has covered multiple Trump speeches, I can attest they’re less rowdy than your average rock concert.
But with outlets and commentators going into full hysteria over the supposed genesis of American fascism, the Left feels like it has full license to do whatever it feels necessary to take down Trump. Thus, we get aggressive tactics and assaults on Trump supporters — which begs the question as to who’s the real totalitarian here.
The everyday Americans who, for whatever reason, want to hear Trump speak? Or the rabid mobs trying to terminate speech they label bigoted and attack rally attendees?
Remember, the leftists are actually responsible for serious damage in cities like Ferguson and Baltimore. On the other hand, Trump rally goers, so far, are responsible for little more than a sucker punch.
While the consensus may be that Trump is ultimately responsible for this tumult, what’s lost in the coverage of his rally chaos is how the protest movements aligning against the possible Republican nominee are part of what’s driving millions of Americans to support him.
Over the last few years, Americans have witnessed riots occur over media-driven lies about alleged police brutality and racism. We’ve seen campus activists intimidate and silence dissent at universities throughout the country. We’ve seen campaigns launched to get people with politically incorrect views fired from their jobs.
Trump’s attacks on political correctness and refusal to apologize for controversial statements makes him someone people want to vote for. A large number of Americans are tired of fringe movements holding sway over the public discourse and creating disorder. When there’s chaos, people will turn to the leader who promises to restore order. Right now, that’s Trump’s primary pitch.
The weekend’s uproar will probably only further bolster that appeal — especially in Missouri, the state which has been the epicenter of America’s latest social crises. It’s doubtful the Ferguson riots and University of Missouri protests left a good impression of radical activists on the average Missourian.
The chattering class may see the nation’s civil decline in what happened in Chicago, but Republican voters likely saw another case of radical groups trying to stomp on Middle America. Like the conservative pundits who claim to speak for them, the GOP rank-and-file could see this as a case of “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”
But the friend they see is Donald Trump, not Black Lives Matter.