The shameless hypocrisy of MAGA’s post-WHCD attack blame game
The president’s biggest supporters insist they should be able to say anything they want, no matter how vicious — but everyone else should watch their mouths.
We can say anything we want, no matter how vicious, racist, incendiary or violent, but if you call us fascists or Nazis, then that’s an obvious incitement to political violence and possibly criminal.
That’s essentially the insta-reaction of many Republican officials and MAGA pundits to the reported assassination attempt against President Donald Trump and members of his administration at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner Saturday night at the Washington Hilton.
Based on the accused would-be assassin Cole Tomas Allen’s reported writings before he attempted to storm the dinner, it seems apparent that “politics” in the broadest sense motivated him to try to commit what could have been a history-altering massacre. But it also seems pretty evident by allegedly deciding to take guns across state lines with murderous intent that he’s a deeply disturbed individual acting irrationally. He appears to have had easy access to guns and, by his own telling, encountered shockingly lax security at almost every juncture leading up to his attempted sprint past relaxed-looking Secret Service agents Saturday night.
There isn’t a single Democratic official or prominent liberal commentator minimizing or making excuses for Allen’s actions or rationalizations for attempting to commit murder. On the contrary, there’s been universal condemnation from that side. Yet that hasn’t stopped the accusations of incitement from the civility cops of the MAGA right, who accuse Democrats of cultivating violence while ignoring — if not celebrating — Trump’s most vicious, inhumane and racist statements.
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., in a Fox News interview Monday falsely claimed “Democrats want President Trump, Republicans murdered all across this country. Capitalists murdered.” He then pivoted to what seemed like a rehearsed speech about funding the Department of Homeland Security, invoking illegal immigrants accused of killing Americans and saying “Democrats don’t care.”
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on Monday insinuated the media is responsible for inciting violence for “being overly critical and calling the president horrible names for no reason.” (Blanche, in January, accused Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz of “terrorism” for their resistance to Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s brutal crackdown that left two Americans shot to death in the street.)
Karoline Leavitt holds first briefing since attack at correspondents’ dinner April 27, 2026 / 06:52
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, also on Monday, blamed “the entire Democrat Party” for inspiring violence because they pitch to voters that Trump — who attempted a self-coup based on wholesale lies about election fraud in the 2020 election — “poses an existential threat to democracy, that he is a fascist and they compare him to Hitler.”
Right-wing commentator Erick Erickson posted Sunday, “The only time Democrats oppose collective responsibility for an action is when a progressive tries to kill people, inspired by Democrat rhetoric.”
This is a classic, crybullying civility cop move. Erickson, after all, is not only the same guy who in 2017, wrote “The political left is becoming the American ISIS,” but he also wrote in 2016 that Trump is a “racist,” a “fascist” and, “It can’t be any wonder that so many people with swastikas in their Twitter profile pics back Donald Trump. It takes one to know one.”
Trump in recent months has accused six Democratic members of sedition and suggested they should be hanged. (Sen. Scott dismissed concerns over this as Trump merely being “hypothetical.”)
He reacted to the tragic murders of Rob Reiner and his wife Michele by saying their killings “were reportedly due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME, sometimes referred to as TDS.” And he despicably celebrated former FBI Director Robert Mueller’s death of natural causes: “Good. I’m glad he’s dead.”
As my MS NOW colleague Steve Benen noted last week, Trump is “the president who has told Americans his political opponents are ‘fascists’ who are also guilty of ‘treason.’ His domestic foes are also ‘enemies of the people,’ ‘the enemy within’ and ‘threats to democracy.’ Last year, Trump went so far as to insist Democrats were ‘evil’ and members of ‘the party of Satan.’”
Squelching of comedians and satire is the authoritarian’s dream: John Heilemann September 18, 2025 / 10:00
As I wrote last year, “It’s a fool’s errand trying to shame MAGA bigwigs by holding up a mirror to their flagrant hypocrisy. They don’t care, and they relish shameless trolling — like wielding awesome power to police the same words they use all the time.”
But we must remain vigilant that the MAGA cancel culture of censorship, firings, sanctions and even arrests that followed Charlie Kirk’s assassination isn’t replicated. And we should never accept the MAGA demand that their words be met with no recriminations (because that’s “cancel culture” and “incitement”), while insisting that their opponents never call them a mean name — even when the shoe fits.
Trump Signs Order Expediting Drugs for Mental Health Treatment
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Saturday that he said “directs the FDA to expedite their review of certain psychedelics already designated as breakthrough therapy drugs.” A primary objective of the order is to speed treatment for veterans.
“The executive order I’m signing, we’re actually signing the executive order today, is really a moment,” Trump said. “These treatments are currently in the advanced stages of clinical trials to ensure that they’re both safe and effective for the American patients.”
The president said the executive order would implement “historic reforms to dramatically accelerate access to new medical research and treatments based on psychedelic drugs.” Citing the elevated veteran suicide rate, the president added: “In many cases, these experimental treatments have shown life-changing potential for those suffering from severe mental illness and depression, including our cherished veterans.”
“And the nice part is we’re actually doing this early, but it has been going on. Research has been going on for quite some time. But, you know, usually with things like this, nothing ever happens, no matter how the research ends up, but we’re changing that. This order will clear away unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles, improve data sharing among the FDA and the Department of Veterans Affairs, and facilitate fast rescheduling of any psychedelic drugs that become FDA approved,” Trump continued.
The president said “in 2024, a study from Stanford University, 30 special operation veterans with traumatic brain injuries underwent — it’s called ibogaine treatment — ibogaine, remember the name,” noting that they “experienced an 80 to 90% reduction in symptoms of depression and anxiety within one month.”
“In Texas, Republican leaders have already committed $50 million to the ibogaine research. And today, the federal government is making a $50 million research investment in its own. And so that was just approved just last night,” Trump announced.
“We’re also opening a pathway for ibogaine to be administered to desperately ill patients under the right to try law,” Trump said.
“Today’s order will ensure that people suffering from debilitating symptoms might finally have a chance to reclaim their lives and lead a happier life, just lead a happier life,” he added.
Two weeks ago, Trump signed a sweeping executive order aimed at tightening federal oversight of election integrity, directing multiple agencies to expand voter eligibility verification and impose new controls on mail-in ballots.
The order, titled “Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections,” outlines a series of measures that would increase coordination between federal agencies and state election officials, while also establishing new procedures for how ballots are distributed and tracked through the mail system.
At the core of the directive is a requirement that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), working with the Social Security Administration (SSA), compile and transmit lists of individuals confirmed to be U.S. citizens to state election authorities. These “State Citizenship Lists” would be generated using federal databases, including immigration and Social Security records, and updated regularly ahead of federal elections.
According to the order, the lists are intended to help states verify voter eligibility, though inclusion on the list would not automatically register an individual to vote. State laws and procedures would still govern registration requirements.
The order also calls for the Department of Justice (DOJ) to prioritize investigations and potential prosecutions related to election law violations. This includes cases involving the distribution of ballots to individuals deemed ineligible to vote, as well as any actors—public or private—who may be involved in producing or sending such ballots.
In a significant expansion of federal involvement in mail voting procedures, the directive instructs the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to develop new rules governing the handling of mail-in and absentee ballots. Within 60 days, the Postmaster General is required to initiate a rulemaking process that would standardize ballot tracking and verification measures nationwide.
Under the proposed framework, all mail-in ballots would be required to use specially marked envelopes designated as official election mail. These envelopes must include unique tracking barcodes and meet specific design standards set by USPS to ensure compatibility with automated processing systems.
Trump Says He’s in No Hurry to Make Deal With Iran
The president gave an update on negotiations between Washington and Tehran in a weekend interview.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House on March 26, 2026 in Washington. This is Trump's second Cabinet meeting of 2026 and the first since the United States and Israel began attacking Iran on Feb. 28, 2026. Chip Somodevilla/Getty U.S. President Donald Trump, in an interview published on May 30, said that he is in no hurry to make a deal with Iran to end the war, saying that neither Washington nor Tehran has signed an agreement yet.
“I’d like to say I’m in a hurry because gasoline prices are going to come tumbling down, but if you’re going to be in a hurry, you’re not going to make a good deal,” Trump told Fox News. “And slowly but surely we’re getting, I think, what we want, and if we don’t get what we want, we’re going to end it a different way.”
For weeks, the United States and Iran have been working to come to an agreement that would end the war, which started in February, as the conflict remains in a ceasefire. On May 29, Trump released the terms of a deal with Tehran and said he would be making a final decision soon.
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Along with demanding that Iran not obtain a nuclear weapon, Trump said in a post on Truth Social that the Strait of Hormuz must be opened “in both directions” and that Tehran must “complete the immediate removal and/or detonation of any mines that are left.”
Since the start of the conflict, the strait has effectively remained shut down, sending oil and gas prices surging, as the strait allows for the transit of about a fifth of the world’s traded oil and natural gas. As of May 31, gas prices in the United States averaged $4.34 per gallon, according to the American Automobile Association.
A White House official told The Epoch Times on May 29 that a White House meeting in the Situation Room on Iran lasted approximately two hours. No details were provided.
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Iran on May 31 claimed that the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) shot down a U.S. military drone that entered its airspace, in comments carried by state-run Tasnim News. The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) has not publicly commented on the incident.
A top Iranian official, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, also said on May 31 that Tehran’s military force is “pushing back the enemy in a great and history-making war,” referring to the United States, according to state-run media. He also claimed that the United States has retreated from the conflict while pushing a narrative of unity in the Iranian regime.
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In his May 29 post on Truth Social, Trump also wrote that mines would be removed from the strait and that ships trapped there may start to go home.
“Say HELLO to your wives, husbands, parents, and families from me, your favorite President!” he said.
On May 30, War Department Secretary Pete Hegseth said the United States would restart attacks against Iran if no deal can be reached and that the military’s ammunition stockpiles are being replenished.
“Our ability to recommence if necessary ... we are more than capable,” Hegseth told reporters in Singapore. “Our stockpiles are more than suited for that, both there and around the globe, so we’re in a very good place.”
The Pentagon head said that Trump was “patient” and that the president wants to make a “great deal” that ensures that Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon.
Reuters contributed to this report.
