As US politicians and world leaders press for peace following the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump at a rally in Butler, PA, Republican FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington is seeking to change how those in telecommunications address the GOP.
In a statement on the attack, Simington said, “Surely the hour is far past when irresponsible rhetoric about such people can be considered morally licit. The First Amendment is, thankfully, broad, and the Federal Communications Commission has few or no powers to compel or limit political speech.”
“It is thus not as an officer of the US government, but as a concerned citizen in government service, that I call on Americans to renounce the abuse of the vast reach of telecommunications to falsely describe political adversaries as threats to democracy, fascists, and by other false and hate-filled terms. In times like these, sincere and candid political speech is a patriotic duty; but malicious and dishonest political speech is not, in my view, in the public interest.”
The incident at Saturday’s rally, which resulted in the death of one attendee, has thrown the rhetoric around the upcoming election into harsh light.
A core pillar of the Biden reelection push and left-leaning media outlets has been that Trump would be a threat to democracy, as referenced by Simington. Now Republicans are saying that sort of language was what led to the shooting. The investigation into what compelled 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks into trying to kill Trump is still underway, with no details as of this time.
Following the attempt on the former President’s life, Biden did admit his regret at saying Trump should be placed, “In a bull’s-eye,” in terms of focusing on what he’s doing. The Biden campaign has exercised extreme caution in the media in the weekend’s wake, pulling $50 million in TV ads and telling staffers to avoid any comments or communication across all platforms.
Language on the opposite side is subsequently raising eyebrows, with signs on display at the Republican National Convention urging voters to “Stop Biden’s Border Bloodbath,” and Commissioner Simington’s comments, while directed at Democrats, have an important meaning for both sides of the political aisle as media outlets must stay vigilant to cool a national temperature that is reaching its boiling point.
Really the information you update quickly. Research and update!
Is Mr. Trump immune to this kind of rhetoric responsibility too??