A Brief History of Trump’s Violent Remarks
After the second attempt on his life, Donald Trump accused his political opponents of inspiring the attacks against him with their rhetoric. The reality, however, is that Trump himself has a long record—singular among American presidents of the modern era—of inciting and threatening violence against his fellow citizens, journalists, and anyone he deems his opposition. Below is a partial list of his violent comments, from the 2016 presidential campaign until today.
November 22, 2015, in response to a Fox News host asking about a heckler at Trump’s rally in Alabama the day before
February 1, 2016, at a rally in Iowa
February 6, 2016, at a Republican-primary debate
February 22, 2016, about a protester who disrupted a Las Vegas rally
February 22, 2016, at a rally in Las Vegas
March 16, 2016, on what would happen if he wasn’t nominated at the upcoming Republican National Convention
August 15, 2017, speaking at a press conference about the white-nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia
October 18, 2018, referring to then-Representative Greg Gianforte, who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge for physically assaulting a reporter
March 12, 2019, in an interview with Breitbart News
May 29, 2020, posted on Twitter during the protests and riots in Minneapolis after George Floyd was murdered
June 2020, according to former Defense Secretary Mark Esper’s memoir, which [described] Trump having said this about protesters outside the White House (Trump has denied saying this)
September, 12, 2020, in a Fox News interview, praising police for killing the antifa supporter Michael Reinoehl, who was accused of killing a right-wing protester
September 29, 2020, addressing the Proud Boys during a presidential debate
January 6, 2021, just minutes before addressing the crowd at the Ellipse, Trump shouted this to his advance team, according to [testimony] from Cassidy Hutchinson (who served as assistant to White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows during the Trump administration)
January 6, 2021, in a tweet before the election certification took place
January 6, 2021, in claiming that the election was stolen and urging supporters to march to the Capitol
January 6, 2021, in a tweet, while rioters at the Capitol were chanting “Hang Mike Pence”
January 6, 2021, in a video message to the insurrectionists at the Capitol
August 15, 2022, in a Fox News interview about the FBI’s search of his Mar-a-Lago residence, which uncovered boxes containing classified documents
October 22, 2022, during a Texas rally
November 7, 2022, during a rally in Ohio
March 4, 2023, at the Conservative Political Action Committee summit
March 24, 2023, in a middle-of-the-night rant on Truth Social
March 25, 2023, during a rally in Waco, Texas
April 27, 2023, during a rally in New Hampshire
August 4, 2023, in a Truth Social post that U.S. prosecutors flagged as an indication that Trump might try to intimidate witnesses in the federal election-subversion case against him
September 22, 2023, on Truth Social, suggesting that General Mark Milley, then the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, should be executed
September 29, 2023, speaking at the California Republican Party convention
November 11, 2023, during a Veterans Day speech
December 5, 2023, during a town hall in Iowa, in response to the Fox News host Sean Hannity asking Trump if he could promise not to abuse power or seek retribution if he wins
December 16, 2023, referring to illegal immigrants during a New Hampshire rally
January 9, 2024, to a group of reporters after a court hearing in which his team argued that presidential immunity should protect him from criminal prosecution for attempting to subvert the 2020 election
March 11, 2024, in a Truth Social post promising that he would pardon the January 6 insurrectionists if elected
March 16, 2024, during a speech about the U.S. auto-manufacturing industry in Ohio (Trump’s campaign later said that he was referencing a “bloodbath” for the automaker industry)
June 6, 2024, in an interview with Phil McGraw, host of Dr. Phil
September 7, 2024, at a rally in Wisconsin, referring to his mass-deportation plans
September 29, 2024, proposing a violent crackdown by police to deal with crime, during a rally in Pennsylvania
October 13, 2024, in a Fox News interview
October 15, 2024, during a Fox News town hall
October 16, 2024, referring to the January 6 insurrection during a Univision town hall