Gov. Glenn Youngkin was campaigning for fellow Virginia Republican Yesli Vega, who is running for a House seat, just hours after it was reported that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband had been attacked at the couple’s San Francisco home.
Youngkin added, “Speaker Pelosi’s husband was assaulted last night during a break-in at their home. Violence has no place anywhere, but we’re going to send her back to California to be with him. That is what we will do when we arrive.
Before the assault, the intruder reportedly said “Where is Nancy?” and attempted to restrain Paul Pelosi until his wife arrived home, according to AWN. The attacker’s suspected attacker shared memes and conspiracies on social media concerning Covid-19, the 2020 election, and the disturbance at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
It’s simple to scoff at what Youngkin said. It was egregiously out of place and poorly timed. What’s worse is that Youngkin, who is frequently cited as a prospective 2024 Republican presidential contender, is very unlikely to face any electoral fallout from what he said. And he might even benefit from it in some quarters.
The boundaries that politicians were afraid to breach have loosened, if not completely disappeared, in large part due to Donald Trump. You can say whatever you want about the opposing political party because, well, they’re seen as deliberately doing things that would destroy America rather than just being misinformed.
According to a recent NBC News poll, 81% of Democrats and 79% of Republicans believe the opposing party’s policies will “destroy” the United States. Even this morning, in a post honouring Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter, Trump criticised the “Radical Left Lunatics and Maniacs that actually detest our country” on his Truth Social website.
When the threat posed by the other party is viewed in such existential terms, almost any statement or course of action seems acceptable. And what happens when harsh rhetoric is praised rather than condemned? more inflammatory language
“You will get violence when you convince people that politicians are rigging elections, drinking babies’ blood, etc.,” tweeted Adam Kinzinger, a Republican congressman from Illinois. “This ought to be ignored.”
The assault on Paul Pelosi was wrong, and there is no place for violence, as the governor clearly stated, according to Youngkin spokeswoman Macaulay Porter to AWN following the protest. He sends his best wishes and will continue to pray for the Pelosi family.
Youngkin’s remark and the criticism of Paul Pelosi come amid an increase in threats made against lawmakers and their families.
According to sources familiar with the threat environment who spoke to AWN, calls for violence against lawmakers have been made both online and elsewhere and have mentioned both elected officials and their families. In the wake of the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, law enforcement agencies have been debating how to handle these threats.
Sadly, there is no proof that controversial speech would cool off even in the wake of incidents like what happened with Paul Pelosi. In reality, there is proof that such language will entice voters to the leader eager to go against all established norms.
