Editor, News-Register:

As per usual, the “great divider” of our great nation, President Donald Trump continues to demagogue increasingly that all political violence is generated by left-leaning progressive Democrats when in reality, has been proven to be absolutely not true, based on all irrefutable such evidence.

This upon the unfortunate killing of Charlie Kirk, who was the founder of a conservative youth outreach group known as Turning Point U.S.A.

Kirk had been a very strong Trump supporter and reportedly advised Trump personally on policy as well as on personal issues, and it is widely believed that Kirk’s influence on young American voters greatly helped Trump in his winning of the 2024 U.S. presidential election. However, much of Kirk’s rhetoric was quite inflammatory, ill conceived and condescending, much like that of Trump. Among many other such epithets from Kirk he had accused President Joe Biden of committing crimes against America, and also stated that black women like Michelle Obama and US Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson don’t have the “brain processing power” to succeed without affirmative action. Of course, no such evidence exists for that whatsoever.

Recall that upon the most unfortunate killing of Kirk, Trump repeatedly claimed that all such acts of violence were committed by progressives against conservatives. In actuality, such violence has been committed by both sides against the other. Examples of violence against Democratic lawmakers include acts committed against Melissa Hartman, Gabby Gifford and the husband of then-Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, whose husband Paul Pelosi, was brutally assaulted by a home invader attempting to commit violence on his wife, among others.

It is quite obvious that political violence has negatively impacted members of both parties. However, Trump the divider chooses to condemn such acts of violence only when they are committed against members of his current party, Republican, and chooses to only blame Democrats for committing such acts of violence.

Also, Trump appears to be waging an all-out war against the freedom of speech. As the chief advocate for cancel culture — of which he has long accused the left — while prioritizing personal revenge for his adversaries as his top priority for his second term in the White House. In retrospect, recall that during the 2024 U.S. presidential campaign, Trump vowed that he would resolve our nation’s economic problems and end the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East on day one upon his return to office. However, such have not at all occurred, but in actuality, have gotten considerably worse.

Richard Hord

Martins Ferry