Pape says 21% of US adults now condone political assassination

Politics (6)

• Trump’s pivot to covering up the Epstein files and cheerleading a regime-change war in Iran represented a 180-degree shift from his America First campaign promises, which Carlson calls a 'cold-hearted globalist betrayal.'
• Carlson argues Jeffrey Epstein's 2019 arrest and murder under Trump's Attorney General Barr, combined with unexplained financial windfalls like a $30 million Powerball win, symbolize a rigged, two-tier justice system.
• Thomas Massie was the only Republican in Congress who never took money from the Israeli lobby. His principled stance was opposing all foreign aid, especially to Israel, due to the U.S. debt crisis.
• Carlson says Trump’s Justice Department, led by Leo Terrell, is conducting a multi-city 'anti-antisemitism' tour, effectively criminalizing criticism of Israel as hate speech.
• Baris argues the Israel-first donor class doesn’t care which party controls Congress; they only need a bipartisan majority to preserve the special relationship and foreign aid spigot.
• Baris observes that voters never prioritized stopping Iran’s nuclear program. Foreign policy has ranked 7th in importance throughout Trump’s term, with over 60% feeling the administration is too focused abroad.

Politics (3)

• Ryan Grim says Trump believed Musk had secret election technology, which influenced Trump inviting Musk into his administration as a 'co-president.'
• My Wang says incumbent Democrat Doris Matsui is using a 'red box' on her website to direct super PACs to run ads boosting Republican Zachariah Wooden, aiming to knock Wang out of California's top-two primary.
• My Wang, a Hmong refugee and Sacramento city councilwoman, runs on abolishing ICE, supporting a Gaza ceasefire, taxing billionaires, and an AI data center moratorium, while rejecting corporate PAC money.

Politics (8)

• Robert Pape, a University of Chicago Professor and leading expert on political violence, argues that "violent populism" poses a greater risk to American democracy than terrorism or foreign adversaries.
• Robert Pape explains that "violent populism" is characterized by tens of millions of Americans on both sides accepting political violence, which fuels individual acts and hinders FBI reporting.
• Natalie Kitroeff and Robert Pape cite recent acts of political violence, including the assassination of a Minnesota Democratic leader and Charlie Kirk, an arson at Governor Shapiro's residence, and multiple attempts on President Trump.
• Research from the University of Chicago Project on Security and Threats indicates that for most of the Biden administration, 10% of Americans supported political violence to restore Donald Trump to the presidency.
• Robert Pape's focus groups found 55% of those endorsing "use of force" meant assassination, initially implying 5% of the body politic; this support has since doubled to 14-21%.
• Pape also links the rise in political violence to a significant shift of wealth to the top 1% since the mid-1980s, which neither political party has addressed, contributing to bipartisan frustration.
• Robert Pape views social media as an accelerant ("adding gasoline to a fire") for political violence, facilitating interactions like Donald Trump Jr.'s post mocking the Pelosi attack, which generates social approval for potential attackers.
• President Trump announced a new U.S. effort to guide stranded ships through the Strait of Hormuz, presenting it as a direct challenge to Iran and warning of forceful responses to any interference.

Politics (5)

• H.L. Hunt's "Facts Forum" actively supported Joseph McCarthy, featuring his researcher (and future wife) Jean Kerr and former FBI agent Robert E. Lee, who compiled McCarthy's list of 205 alleged communists in the State Department. The forum was known within the FBI as a "retirement plan" for agents.
• The 1954 Army-McCarthy hearings, broadcast extensively by ABC and Dumont, were a disaster for McCarthy. Robert Evans notes that media coverage, highlighting his "craziest" moments, became an early example of "soundbite journalism" that revealed his extremism and fueled public outrage.
• Hunt's "Lifeline" series, launched in 1958, explicitly abandoned claims of non-partisanship to avoid trouble. It used Reverend Wayne Poucher, a former Strom Thurmond campaign manager, to frame political issues as struggles between "the mistaken" and "the constructive," ending broadcasts with "don't forget to pray" to claim religious tax exemptions.
• The Nation reported in 1964 that H.L. Hunt was likely the richest man in America and the country's most powerful propagandist for the extreme right. His "Lifeline" program reached an estimated 5 million listeners daily across 45 states via 331 stations, including 25% of clear channel outlets.
• H.L. Hunt's primary political motivation was to protect the oil depletion allowance, a tax loophole for oil producers. He printed 200,000 copies of an anti-Catholic sermon, distributed at the 1960 DNC, to oppose John F. Kennedy's presidential campaign, warning a Catholic president would end religious liberty.

Media (1)

• After shutting down Facts Forum in 1956, Hunt launched "Answers for American," a seemingly balanced panel show. Robert Evans notes the format subtly favored conservatives by presenting charismatic debaters like William F. Buckley against less engaging liberal figures, a model later emulated by Fox News's "Hannity and Colmes."

History (3)

• In 1959, H.L. Hunt started a health food and supplement business, exclusively advertising his "Gastro Magic" anti-gas pills on his own media programs like "Lifeline." He would introduce himself as "the world's richest man" before promoting his products to people expecting donations, and covered his car in bumper stickers for them.
• After John F. Kennedy's assassination in Dallas in November 1963, H.L. Hunt was questioned by the FBI due to his previous anti-Kennedy rhetoric. The ensuing controversy and his association with figures like Barry Goldwater diminished his political influence, with even a rumor of ties to Hunt becoming "damning for a candidate," according to Heather Hindershot.
• H.L. Hunt's son, Lamar Hunt, founded the American Football League (AFL). His sons Herbert and Bunker Hunt attempted to corner the world's silver market and were involved in a wiretapping caper related to their father's will. Bunker Hunt, a John Birch Society donor and oil magnate, reportedly inspired the character J.R. Ewing in the show "Dallas."