Update: No, Donald Trump did not call for his Supporters to go on a Killing Rampage if he Loses the Election.

 by Rod Williams, March 18, 2024- Anyone who reads this blog or follows me on Facebook knows I am no fan of Donald Trump. I think he would make the world much less safe, is not very smart, has authoritarian tendencies, attempted a coup, and is a crude and rude person, and a narcistic bully.  However, get real. 

Recently in talking about the auto industry Trump called for tariffs and said the following:

We’re going to put a 100 percent tariff on every single car that comes across the line, and you’re not going to be able to sell those guys if I get elected. Now, if I don’t get elected, it’s going to be a bloodbath for the whole—that’s gonna be the least of it. It’s going to be a bloodbath for the country. That’ll be the least of it.

Clearly, he was not calling for his supporters to go on a killing rampage if he doesn't win the election. That, however, is the way it was reported in most of the mainstream media. NPR reported, Trump "warned of a 'bloodbath' if he loses in November as he campaigned for Senate candidate Bernie Moreno in Ohio." If you do a search engine search you will find that type of reporting on what Trump said again and again. It is hard to find the context in which Trump used the word "bloodbath." Trump was obviously talking about an economic "bloodbath." 

Trump certainly lends himself to being misunderstood. Sometimes, one does not know what is inarticulate bluster and poor communication skills and what is an expression of fascist sentiment. Trump is bad enough; one doesn't have to make him worse than he is.

It is this type of reporting and distortion and taking out of context that causes people not to trust the mainstream media and to turn to people like Tucker Carlson and others to get their news. The way Trump's "bloodbath" comment was reported explains much of the polarization in this country.

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From The Dispatch, March 18, 2024 -

• Former President Donald Trump proposed instituting a “100-percent tariff” on cars built by Chinese companies in Mexico over the weekend. Speaking at a Saturday rally in Dayton, Ohio, Trump called for trade retaliation in reference to the entrance of Chinese automakers into the Mexican market. One Chinese company, BYD, announced plans last month to build an electric vehicle factory in Mexico. “We’re going to put a 100-percent tariff on every single car that comes across the line, and you’re not going to be able to sell those cars if I get elected,” Trump said.
• Immediately after that comment, Trump said this: “Now, if I don’t get elected, it’s going to be a bloodbath for the whole—that’s going to be the least of it. It’s going to be a bloodbath for the whole country, that’ll be the least of it. But they’re not going to sell those cars, they’re building massive factories.” Trump’s use of the term “bloodbath” set off a media firestorm, as several news outlets reported on his comments and prompted Democrats to claim the presumptive Republican nominee was encouraging political violence if he loses the election. But Republicans—as well as some staunch opponents of Trump—argued that Trump was referring to a bloodbath in the domestic auto industry and other matters of policy. In the past, Trump has encouraged political violence against hecklers and notoriously egged on a mob after it stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021. 

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