Political Violence Has Been On the Rise Well Before Trump Shooting

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KQED

News Commentary, News, Politics

4.2 • 727 Ratings

🗓️ 17 July 2024

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In calling for unity in the wake of the assassination attempt on Donald Trump, President Joe Biden said political violence is “un-American and abhorrent.” But that’s more aspiration than historical reality. Political violence has been part of American history since our founding and has been on the rise since Trump was elected in 2016, according to experts. Elected officials and average citizens have been victims of politically motivated shooting sprees. We’ll talk about what constitutes political violence, why it keeps occurring, and what to make of the recent news. Guests: Gary LaFree, professor of criminology and criminal justice, University of Maryland Matthew Dallek, professor of political management, The George Washington University; author, "Birchers: How the John Birch Society Radicalized the American Right" Rachel Kleinfeld, senior fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; studies democracy, the rule of law, and political violence Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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0:34.7	Thank you. From KQED.
0:49.7	From KQED in San Francisco, I'm Alexis Madrigal. In calling for unity in the wake of the assassination attempt of Donald Trump, President Joe Biden said political violence is, quote, un-American.
0:58.0	But a country that settles its disputes without violence is an aspiration,
1:02.0	not our historical reality.
1:04.0	The U.S. was born in violent revolution, came of age to the Civil War,
1:07.0	and experienced periods of racial terrorism, leftist guerrilla action, and right-wing
1:11.6	violence in the 20th century.
1:13.6	Among presidents, a quarter were assassinated or survived an attempt.
1:17.5	That said, in my life, political violence did enter a lull in recent years.
1:21.8	What can we learn from that history?
1:23.5	What's new in our era?
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