Donald Trump’s globally recognized penchant for aggressive and violent behavior towards his opponents or those he holds disdain for has once again landed him in controversy. The former U.S. president is in hot water as he has posted a violent video of Joe Biden hog-tied behind a pickup truck.
On Friday, Trump shared a video on Truth Social showing a pickup truck adorned with a “Trump 2024” sticker, pro-police flags, and a bumper sticker featuring the Biden image, driving along the highway.
Last year as well, Trump got in trouble for sharing a picture of himself holding a baseball bat next to a photo of a lawyer named Alvin Bragg. Bragg was dealing with a case against Trump. Then Trump wrote on a social media site that Bragg’s actions could cause “death and destruction.” Later, Trump said he didn’t mean to make people violent, and he didn’t know the picture would be with the article.
In 2017, Trump shared a funny video of himself wrestling. In the video, he was pretending to beat up a person with the CNN logo on their face. Some people said it looked like he was threatening journalists. CNN said it was silly. Trump said CNN was taking it too seriously.
Donald Trump’s online attack on Joe Biden has received him his biggest critique. Michael Tyler, a spokesman for the Biden campaign, In a statement to various outlets, described the image shared by Trump as “the kind of stuff you post when you’re encouraging violence, like when you tell groups like the Proud Boys to ‘stand back and stand by’.
Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign, stated to various news outlets following the video’s release, “Democrats and extreme individuals have not only called for abhorrent violence against President Trump and his family, but they are also actively manipulating the justice system against him,” referring to the ongoing legal cases involving Trump. Instances of Trump critics sharing violent imagery exist, notably when comedian Kathy Griffin faced backlash for posting a photo of herself holding a fake severed and bloodied Trump head in 2017. Consequently, she was dismissed from her role as a host of CNN’s New Year’s Eve broadcast.
Background of political threats in U.S
In recent years, instances of political violence threats have become increasingly prevalent in the United States, extending beyond the federal level. A recent report from the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University Law School reveals that over 40% of state lawmakers claim to have encountered threats within the last three years.
