Of all the dumb things leftists could be complaining about, this has to rank among the absolute dumbest. On Saturday, former President Donald Trump decided to hold his latest rally in Waco, Texas, the city where the government murdered 76 people, including 25 children.
Here’s a surprise: Democrats aren’t happy about it.
In fact, several left-wing influencers and media activists took to the interwebs to whine about Trump having the unmitigated gall to hold a rally only a few miles away from the site of one of the greatest atrocities the federal government has committed in recent memory.
Ed Krassenstein, a leftist social media influencer who, along with his brother Brian, built an entire brand on hating the Orange Man What Is Bad™, claimed that the former president chose this location “because he wants his own cult members to turn against the American government.”
He tweeted:
Days before likely getting indicted, Trump will hold a rally on the 30th Anniversary of the Waco, Texas siege.
While the siege 30 years ago had to do with a religious cult, there is no doubt that Trump chose this location because he wants his own cult members to turn against the American government as well.
The fact that this guy will likely be the Republican nominee is just nuts.
Oh, and No firearms are allowed at Trump’s Rally in Waco. I guess Trump doesn’t want those “good guys with a gun” around him.
Former federal prosecutor Shanlon Wu called the decision “despicable” and claimed that “Waco is arguably one of the cradles of the violent, American far-right.” He wrote:
From a moral point of view Trump holding a rally in Waco is a despicable appeal to the most extremist right hate groups as a political strategy it focuses MAGA Republicans on an increasingly narrow voter base. Waco is arguably one of the cradles of the violent American far-right
I wonder why a former federal official would have a problem with highlighting an egregious act committed by the federal government.
Of course, the Lincoln Project, still struggling to maintain a kernel’s worth of relevancy, also chimed in.
“The GOP is the party of Trump, Proud Boys, and insurrectionists. And their frontrunner is hosting a rally in Waco during the 30th anniversary of the Waco standoff. Does that sound like law & order to you?” the group tweeted.
Then, we have MSNBC columnist Dean Obeidallah, who wrote an entire op-ed whining about drawing attention to the siege at the Branch Davidian compound that took place 30 years ago. He wrote:
Anti-government extremists have long cited the government’s raid of the compound as an example of what they consider government tyranny.
Experts have appropriately sounded the alarm that by staging a rally in Waco, Trump is courting anti-government extremists.
And who are these experts? Obeidallah highlighted a piece published on USA Today in which several of these intrepid individuals waxed hysterical about Trump’s rally.
Heidi Beirich, a co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, told the outlet, “There’s not really another place in the U.S. that you could pick that would tap into these deep veins of anti-government hatred — Christian nationalist skepticism of the government — and I find it hard to believe that Trump doesn’t know that Waco represents all of these things.”
Oren Segal, the vice president of the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism, said, “If Trump is promoting this idea of government overreach — of targeting him — it’s kind of the perfect place to send a message, and will be understood that way whether he intends it or not.”
CNN media activist Nicole Hemmer peddled the same line in another op-ed.
“Trump clearly knows the power of place,” she wrote. “In the case of Waco, it is not just a provocation but a signal, likely to be read by those who have used force on Trump’s behalf as an invitation.”
Hemmer continued:
For the past three decades, this incident has been a key element of far-right mythology: a rallying cry for armed resistance to the federal government and its representatives. For Trump, whose first term ended with an assault on the US Capitol, the choice to rally in Waco sends a clear message that will energize proponents of far-right extremism among his base.
Hemmer also claimed that “[t]he persistence of Waco as a call to arms for the far right underscores the potency of Trump’s choice to hold his opening rally there”
The Waco standoff was a 51-day confrontation between the United States government and the Branch Davidians, a religious group led by David Koresh, that took place in 1993. The standoff began on February 28, 1993, when the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) attempted to execute a search warrant on the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas.
The raid resulted in a shootout between the ATF agents and the Branch Davidians, leaving four ATF agents and six Branch Davidians dead. After the failed raid, the FBI took over the operation and initiated a siege on the compound. Negotiations between the FBI and Koresh continued for 51 days, but they were ultimately unsuccessful. On April 19, 1993, the FBI launched a tear gas attack on the compound, which led to a fire that engulfed the entire building. The fire resulted in the deaths of 76 Branch Davidians, including Koresh.
This is all balderdash, of course. Yes, there have been some extremists who have used the massacre at Waco to justify domestic terrorism. Timothy McVeigh, who bombed an FBI office in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, comes to mind.
However, it is foolish to suggest that remembering what the federal government did at the Branch Davidian compound is somehow stoking anti-government sentiment that will lead to violence. I visited the site last year and, for me, it was a stark reminder that the federal government will not hesitate to murder Americans if it deems it necessary. This does not mean that I want to carry out terrorist attacks or incite others to do so.
Democrats are clearly reaching on this one. There is absolutely nothing wrong with Trump holding a rally during the 30th anniversary of the siege. This is especially true if he plans to rein in federal agencies like the ATF and FBI. In the end, the leftist meltdown over this matter is much ado about nothing. But hey, they would not be doing their jobs if they didn’t feign outrage over this, would they?