Representatives of the Democratic Party and numerous progressive media outlets took advantage of the assault this Friday on Paul Pelosi, husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, to lash out against the Republican Party and especially the MAGA (Make America Great Again) movement and Donald Trump.
President Joe Biden singled out Republicans for the attack claiming that their rhetoric was responsible for inspiring the attacker. He recalled the January 6 episode on Capitol Hill and referenced the attacker reportedly shouting “Where’s Nancy?” while assaulting Paul Pelosi.
It has been reported that this guy they have in custody used the same chant that was used on January 6 in the attack on the Capitol (...) This is despicable (...) There is no place in America. There is too much violence, political violence, too much hatred. Enough is enough.
At the same time, numerous media outlets, political commentators and representatives wanted to spread their anti-MAGA message by attacking the Speaker of the House of Representatives’s husband.
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) retweeted an appearance by Michael McCaul (R-Texas) on Fox News in which he noted that allowing "dangerous criminals out on the streets with bail and not put them in prison" results in these kinds of indicators. "I think it created the environment where this happens," McCaul said.
However, AOC responded in her tweet by directly attacking Fox News:
Or maybe a billionaire-fueled propaganda channel that regularly generates high volumes of death threats to elected officials while pumping propaganda for an extreme right-wing that openly embraces fascism is what's creating "the environment where it happened " https://t.co/wfCYKWXU8N
- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) October 28, 2022
Along the same lines, MSNBC political commentator Ruth Ben-Ghiat shared an analysis in which she singled out the Republican Party for being behind the "polarization" and "political violence" that she believes reflects the attack on Paul Pelosi. A similar rhetoric was shared by Democratic entertainers such as Rob Reiner, who directly linked former President Donald Trump to the assault.
My latest for @MSNBC. When polarization (us vs. them) becomes survivalism (us OR them) political violence is not far behind. Democrats as mortal enemies; Great Replacement theory, and other survivalist ideologies of the GOP. https://t.co/PjEmtDlURR
- Ruth Ben-Ghiat (@ruthbenghiat) October 28, 2022
Donald Trump has been spreading The Big Lie for 2 years. The violent assault on Paul Pelosi and the attempt to murder Speaker Pelosi is directly related to that Lie. Donald Trump is 100% responsible for this and Jan.6. He must be indicted and never be allowed to hold office.
- Rob Reiner (@robreiner) October 28, 2022
The assailant had no ties to the Republican Party
However, reality seems quite different. The assailant, 42 year old David DePape, is known for his active online presence and radical ties to nudist activism. The San Francisco Chronicle recalls the assailant's possible ties to the Green Party.
Other articles define Paul Pelosi's assailant as a "hemp jewelry maker far out of touch with reality." In this regard, DePape's posts were found to encompass everything from anti-Semitism to aliens. However, everyone from congressmen to political analysts overlooked this shaky psychological profile to directly attack the Republican Party less than two weeks before the midterms.
