# Trump threatens political opponents **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [March 14, 2019, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-threatens-political-opponents/831149 "2019-03-14T20:30:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2019, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-threatens-political-opponents/831149/21 "2019-03-15T12:44:47Z")
> [@Covfefe](#): > > I would be floored if he clarified what he meant or apologized. So would I, but I’m trying my best to look at it objectively as I would for any politician. As silly as this may be when considering an incompetent, malevolent buffoon like Trump. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2019, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-threatens-political-opponents/831149/22 "2019-03-15T12:47:27Z")
It’s no different from his “Second Amendment people” threat. But it doesn’t mean anything more than that, it’s just his usual bluster to the usual deplorables. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2019, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-threatens-political-opponents/831149/23 "2019-03-15T12:48:07Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > So the SDMB is accepting Breitbart as factual, now? > > Good to know! They are not accepting Breitbart as factual - they are accepting the CNN opinion piece as factual. Namely that Trump is threatening his political opponents with violence. Trump was actually speaking about how the left uses violence and intimidation to suppress free speech, and said that his supporters don’t respond in kind. But CNN has told them what to think, and that ends it except for the shouting. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2019, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-threatens-political-opponents/831149/24 "2019-03-15T12:54:19Z")
Exactly! He wasn’t threatening his opponents— he was threatening his _strawman_ opponents. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2019, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-threatens-political-opponents/831149/25 "2019-03-15T12:55:11Z")
Try to keep up with those goalposts, people! ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2019, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-threatens-political-opponents/831149/26 "2019-03-15T13:06:08Z")
Funny (sad funny) to see so many people leaping to give the benefit of the doubt to Trump, who has explicitly praised and encouraged violence on multiple occasions. ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2019, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-threatens-political-opponents/831149/27 "2019-03-15T14:00:03Z")
I can’t remember where I saw it, but some have speculated the comment was inspired by the actions of Maduro’s motorcycle gang as he refuses to peacefully transfer power. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2019, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-threatens-political-opponents/831149/28 "2019-03-15T14:23:57Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Funny (sad funny) to see so many people leaping to give the benefit of the doubt to Trump, who has explicitly praised and encouraged violence on multiple occasions. What doubt? ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2019, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-threatens-political-opponents/831149/29 "2019-03-15T14:29:23Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > They are not accepting Breitbart as factual - they are accepting the CNN opinion piece as factual. Namely that Trump is threatening his political opponents with violence. Trump was actually speaking about how the left uses violence and intimidation to suppress free speech, and said that his supporters don’t respond in kind. > > But CNN has told them what to think, and that ends it except for the shouting. > > Regards, > Shodan You might have a point if there were instances of the left using violence and intimidation to suppress free speech. I admire your flexibility in contorting yourself into a pretzel to justify Dear Leader’s mob tactics. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2019, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-threatens-political-opponents/831149/30 "2019-03-15T16:06:52Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > They are not accepting Breitbart as factual - they are accepting the CNN opinion piece as factual. Namely that Trump is threatening his political opponents with violence. Trump was actually speaking about how the left uses violence and intimidation to suppress free speech, and said that his supporters don’t respond in kind. > > But CNN has told them what to think, and that ends it except for the shouting. > > Regards, > Shodan Oh, please. > [@Trump](#): > > “I can tell you I have the support of the police, the support of the military, the support of the Bikers for Trump — I have the tough people, but they don’t play it tough — until they go to a certain point, **and then it would be very bad, very bad**.” ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2019, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-threatens-political-opponents/831149/31 "2019-03-15T16:49:21Z")
That’s the shouting. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2019, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-threatens-political-opponents/831149/32 "2019-03-15T16:53:47Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Oh, please. > [@](#): > > Originally Posted by Trump > “I can tell you I have the support of the police, the support of the military, the support of the Bikers for Trump — I have the tough people, but they don’t play it tough — until they go to a certain point, and then it would be very bad, very bad.” Trump explicitly, clearly, obviously threatened violence from his supporters, including police and military. There is no way someone can twist this into Trump saying "his supporters don’t respond in kind. " It’s quite clearly the opposite of this. Anyone who posts an excuse like this on behalf of Trump is being deliberately obtuse, and is a disgusting, amoral pathetic excuse for a human being. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2019, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-threatens-political-opponents/831149/33 "2019-03-15T16:58:46Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > You might have a point if there were instances of the left using violence and intimidation to suppress free speech. I admire your flexibility in contorting yourself into a pretzel to justify Dear Leader’s mob tactics. Is that sarcasm or satire or something? ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2019, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-threatens-political-opponents/831149/34 "2019-03-15T17:02:20Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > That’s the shouting. > > Regards, > > Shodan Trump’s doing the shouting? Well, I can certainly agree on that. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2019, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-threatens-political-opponents/831149/35 "2019-03-15T17:06:29Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > That’s the shouting. > > Regards, > Shodan Trump has indeed loudly encouraged and praised violence on numerous occasions. I’d say it’s certainly reasonable to call some of that encouragement/praise of violence “shouting”. That’s what you mean, right? ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2019, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-threatens-political-opponents/831149/36 "2019-03-15T17:28:47Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > That’s the shouting. > > Regards, > Shodan Huh? Those are Trumps words. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2019, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-threatens-political-opponents/831149/37 "2019-03-15T17:32:44Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > Is that sarcasm or satire or something? Your surety that something exists in and of itself is not evidence that it does indeed exist. If you have any evidence, it would be nice to see it. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2019, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-threatens-political-opponents/831149/38 "2019-03-15T17:52:43Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Huh? Those are Trumps words. You realize in Trumpworld, even a video recording showing him saying something like this is still “fake news”, right? ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2019, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-threatens-political-opponents/831149/39 "2019-03-15T18:25:27Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Your surety that something exists in and of itself is not evidence that it does indeed exist. If you have any evidence, it would be nice to see it. Lol. That can’t be a serious post. With 59,000 posts you’ve been around long enough to know that there are many instances of the so-called left using violence to suppress speech. ---
**Author:** ![SingleMalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/singlemalt/32/3961_2.png) [@SingleMalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SingleMalt)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2019, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-threatens-political-opponents/831149/40 "2019-03-15T18:31:49Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > They are not accepting Breitbart as factual - they are accepting the CNN opinion piece as factual. Namely that Trump is threatening his political opponents with violence. Trump was actually speaking about how the left uses violence and intimidation to suppress free speech, and said that his supporters don’t respond in kind. > > But CNN has told them what to think, and that ends it except for the shouting. > > Regards, > Shodan This is a very interesting perspective. I suspect that many of the members of this board are capable of reading an opinion piece, teasing out out the direct claims that underpin that opinion, and then review those sources - especially since they tend to be helpfully hyperlinked. Of course, it also appears that there are some board members that lack this capability, and mistakenly view opinion pieces as “reporting” and cannot separate the perspective from the underlying facts. I suspect that this ability may have atrophied due to prolonged exposure to right-wing websites where “facts” are largely irrelevant, or contrived. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-threatens-political-opponents/831149.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-threatens-political-opponents/831149.md?page=3)