Spare Us the Tears, Trump: Your Rhetoric Has Been a Loaded Gun for Years
Your hateful lies leave marginalized communities dodging bullets without a security detail to protect them.
Political violence against any candidate is unacceptable—let’s be clear on that. But while we condemn all violence, it is impossible to ignore the fact that for years, the right-wing machinery of Donald Trump, his enablers, the Heritage Foundation, and Christian nationalists have weaponized their rhetoric in ways that have directly endangered the lives of marginalized groups. Their toxic words, drenched in hate and violent fantasies, have wreaked havoc on the lives of immigrant children and families, LGBTQ+ people, women, people of color, religious minorities, and other disenfranchised communities.
Trump and his circle have built a playbook on lies and paranoia, perpetuating the myth that migrants are criminals, that LGBTQ+ people are perverse threats, and that women’s bodily autonomy is somehow society’s downfall. These lies have had tangible, devastating consequences. Migrants have been scapegoated and demonized to the point where people think it’s acceptable to let them die at the border or to detain them under horrific conditions. LGBTQ+ individuals face escalating violence, with hate crimes spiking as states work to strip away their rights. And women—how many more rights do we expect them to lose? How much more control are we prepared to surrender to a theocratic vision of America that feels straight out of a dystopian novel?
This isn't just dangerous—it’s deadly. Words have power, and these words have led to direct violence. Hate-fueled rhetoric spreads like wildfire, inciting extremists to act on these dehumanizing beliefs. Do we need any more examples than the horrific shootings at LGBTQ+ clubs, the relentless erasure of trans people, the growing number of migrants who have died in their quest for safety, or the rise in anti-Semitic attacks? And while politicians like Trump enjoy Secret Service protection from harm, the same cannot be said for those who are genuinely at risk.
The hypocrisy is glaring. Trump cries foul when he’s targeted, yet his violent, hateful language has been the catalyst for much of the violence inflicted on others. We cannot forget that while his rallies are guarded by the Secret Service, migrants, LGBTQ+ people, people of color, and religious minorities don’t have the luxury of federal protection. They don’t have a government force standing by to shield them from threats. Instead, they’re left to fend for themselves in a world made increasingly hostile by right-wing vitriol.
Political violence is terrible, but we must also acknowledge that Trump and his cronies have been playing the long game, turning their rhetoric into a weapon aimed at the most vulnerable among us. They’ve stoked fear and directed it at the subjugated, turning them into villains to maintain control.
We cannot allow these lies to continue. The microphone must be taken away from those who’ve used it to incite hatred and violence. We must demand accountability for the harm they’ve caused. The lives lost, the safety threatened, and the rights stripped away from marginalized groups are not just unfortunate collateral—they are the direct result of a movement that has glorified division, fear, and violence.