Victor Davis Hanson slams Democrats inciting violence against 'MAGA Republicans'
Hoover Institution senior fellow Victor Davis Hanson reacts to deadly attack on conservative pedestrian and outburst at TPUSA event on 'Jesse Watters Primetime.'
Supporters of former President Donald Trump have come under increasing scrutiny and attacks since President Biden declared their ideology "semi-fascism" in a Philadelphia speech earlier in September, said Victor Davis Hanson.
On "Jesse Watters Primetime," the Hoover Institution historian reacted to recent instances of leftists attacking and in at least one example allegedly killing a conservative — as well as reports Biden's Homeland Security Department will be recommending anxiety tests for U.S. adults amid economic turmoil.
Host Jesse Watters reported on a North Dakota incident in which 41-year-old motorist Shannon Brandt allegedly intentionally struck and killed a pedestrian he believed to be a "Republican extremist."
Brandt claimed Cayler Ellingson, 18, was threatening him and that they had engaged in a political argument in Stutsman County, N.D., on Sunday. Brandt was charged with vehicular homicide, but Watters further reported the suspect was released on bail.
President Joe Biden delivers a primetime speech at Independence National Historical Park September 1, 2022 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ((Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images))
Combining that with a New York Times report that DHS will recommend mental health screenings for adults under 65, in light of Biden's pronouncement that "MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic," Watters suggested to Hanson that America is at a dangerous moment.
"[Biden] convinced half the country that the other half a bunch of fascists and they don't deserve anyone's respect. Next step: Diagnose all of them as mentally ill," he said, going on to suggest DHS' reported announcement is a response to Americans' valid concerns about inflation and crime under Democratic rule.
Victor Davis Hanson on Fox News. (Fox News)
"The left is ironic, Jesse," Hanson said in reply to both cases — calling out hypocrisy of Democrats in one breath claiming "words matter" and generalizations are bigoted — while at the same time simply nodding to Biden using charged rhetoric toward civilians and labeling 73 million voters as one homogenous group.
"What's the logical consequence of that? You have to do something with people who live in the shadows and don't believe in the Constitution. So you bring out all of these nuts and they do something," he added, pointing as well to Sen. Chuck Schumer appearing to threaten Supreme Court Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch with "the whirlwind" after they ruled on a case against his wishes.
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He further criticized top Pentagon brass' comments about "white rage" and critical race theory, as well as unnamed analysts in other media outlets who reportedly claimed they do not want to "associate with White people anymore."
"Why wouldn't you have people go out and shoot people in Memphis or Baton Rouge? So this is what they told us happened because they said words matter and it filters down to the street and incites people to do things that are terrible who are not stable people," he said.
"But that's what they're doing because they're projecting right on to Republicans what they're very familiar with themselves. It's very dangerous what they're doing now."
In response, Watters said he hopes there are at least a few journalists left in the White House press corps who might ask the Biden administration — in light of officials' charged rhetoric and the like — about Brandt's alleged vehicular attack on the Republican teenager.