Among the most controversial comments Donald Trump made over the weekend were the former president’s dehumanizing anti-immigrant rhetoric, including the Republican’s willingness to reiterate his support for Hitler-like phrasing about immigrants “poisoning the blood” of the United States.
But those weren’t the only comments from the last couple of days that raised eyebrows. NBC News reported:
Former President Donald Trump vowed on Saturday that there would be a “bloodbath” if he’s not re-elected in November. The comments came at a rally [near Dayton, Ohio] as Trump discussed the possibility of an increasing trade war with China over auto manufacturing.
A variety of observers, including the presumptive GOP nominee himself, have emphasized the fact that his “bloodbath” comments came as part of a rhetorical riff on the auto industry, so let’s pay particular attention to the context.
“If you’re listening, President Xi — and you and I are friends — but he understands the way I deal. Those big monster car manufacturing plants that you’re building in Mexico right now ... you’re going to not hire Americans and you’re going to sell the cars to us, no. We’re going to put a 100% tariff on every single car that comes across the line, and you’re not going to be able to sell those cars if I get elected,” Trump said.
“Now if I don’t get elected, it’s going to be a bloodbath for the whole — that’s gonna be the least of it,” he added. “It’s going to be a bloodbath for the country. That’ll be the least of it. But they’re not going to sell those cars.
So, was Trump talking only about the economy and the automotive industry when he made reference to a “bloodbath”?
A Politico report summarized this in a way I found compelling: “In the speech, he was talking about the auto industry and the potential for economic losses against China. That’s a fair point. But we’d note he also said, ‘That’s going to be the least of it,’ suggesting a wider lens than simply autos.”
What’s more, it’s not as if Trump has somehow earned the benefit of the doubt. For one thing, even if the rhetoric was intended to be focused on the economy, the Republican has made no secret of the fact that he’s rooting for an economic crash, regardless of the consequences for Americans.
For another, if the former president’s critics are right, and he was referencing possible post-election violence, Trump’s recent record is dreadful. Not only does the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol remain an indelible stain on the former president’s record, but there’s also his indictment-related rhetoric that was ugly and scary. In fact, it was exactly one year ago this week when Trump, preparing for an indictment in New York, turned to his social media platform and wrote, “PROTEST, TAKE OUR NATION BACK!” In case that was too subtle, Trump added a few hours later, “IT’S TIME!!! ... WE JUST CAN’T ALLOW THIS ANYMORE. ... WE MUST SAVE AMERICA! PROTEST, PROTEST, PROTEST!!!”
It came on the heels of the Republican predicting that if he were indicted, the United States would face “problems ... the likes of which perhaps we’ve never seen.”
Can I say with absolute certainty what Trump meant when he referenced a possible post-election “bloodbath”? Not really, though the “that’ll be the least of it” comments suggested he wasn’t just talking about the economy.
But given everything we know, the presumptive GOP nominee shouldn’t be too surprised to see his public comments generate another controversy.