Yesterday afternoon at a courthouse in Washington, D.C., federal district judge Tanya Chukkin took

the extraordinary step of placing a gag order on Donald Trump, limiting the First Amendment

rights of the former president.

The order came at the request of Jack Smith, the special counsel prosecuting Trump for

his role trying to overturn the election on January 6, 2021.

Smith said the order is necessary because Trump keeps attacking prosecutors, court officials,

and even potential witnesses.

This could influence the trial and taint potential jurors.

But Smith is also concerned with the possibility Trump's rhetoric could inspire violence.

If there's anyone who might be desensitized to the violence and vitriol in modern U.S. politics,

it's Robert Pape.

For 30 years, I've studied political violence in many different countries around the world,

Bosnia, Iraq, Afghanistan.

Now in the last few years, the United States.

Smith is a professor of political science and the director of the University of Chicago

Project on Security and Threats.

I asked him, even after all these years, he ever finds himself shocked by something a politician

might say.

Almost in every speech from Donald Trump, there are things that will give me pause.

The former president has been fluent in outrageous language well before he ever entered politics.

As a first-time candidate in 2016, and then president, Trump was constantly testing

the limits of acceptable speech.

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