By C. Douglas Golden November 2, 2024 at 7:34am
How desperate are things for Kamala Harris and her surrogates? Consider that their outrage this news cycle is a cut-off clip from Donald Trump that, when taken grotesquely out of context, sounds like a nonsensical threat against former Rep. Liz Cheney.
It’s actually a quote about going to war. And those who have gone to war are none too happy about it being twisted.
So, for those of you who haven’t caught up on this kerfuffle — and really, at this point, those who have to chronicle this twaddle are fiercely envious of you — a headline in The Washington Post will give you a good idea of how this is being spun: “Trump embraces violent rhetoric, suggests Liz Cheney should have guns ‘trained on her face.’”
The remarks came during an interview in Arizona on Thursday with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. This is the part everyone is reporting: “Let’s put her with a rifle standing there with nine barrels shooting at her, OK? Let’s see how she feels about it, you know, when the guns are trained on her face.”
The Post ended the quote there, and so did Cheney when she posted the clip, adding: “This is how dictators destroy free nations. They threaten those who speak against them with death. We cannot entrust our country and our freedom to a petty, vindictive, cruel, unstable man who wants to be a tyrant.”
This is how dictators destroy free nations. They threaten those who speak against them with death. We cannot entrust our country and our freedom to a petty, vindictive, cruel, unstable man who wants to be a tyrant. #Womenwillnotbesilenced #VoteKamala https://t.co/URH5s929Sa
— Liz Cheney (@Liz_Cheney) November 1, 2024
Unfortunately, while the Democrats were busy trying to make this a huge thing — a sign of arrant desperation if there ever was — a few people happened to see the full clip, which asked how “war hawks” like Liz Cheney tend to do when they’re out on the battlefield.
CONTEXT: He’s talking about how politicians are so quick to send young Americans to die in foreign endless wars
“They’re all war hawks when they’re sitting in Washington in a nice building saying Oh gee, let’s send 10,000 troops into the mouths of the enemy.” pic.twitter.com/0FSXRntsEF
— ALX 🇺🇸 (@alx) November 1, 2024
Would you support Liz Cheney being sent to serve in overseas combat?
The full quote: “Let’s put her with a rifle standing there with nine barrels shooting at her, OK? Let’s see how she feels about it, you know, when the guns are trained on her face. You know, they’re all war hawks when they’re sitting in Washington in a nice building saying ‘Oh gee, let’s send 10,000 troops into the mouths of the enemies.’ She always wanted to go to war with people.”
In other words, this was such a lie that Trump should sue the pants off of every outlet that didn’t print the second half of the quote. But never mind, because this got huge pushback from several prominent vets.
Cynical Publius — a pseudonymic social media presence who fought with the U.S. Army with the 82nd Airborne Division in Afghanistan, according to Judaism-centric publication Tablet, where he’s contributed — wrote a long X post savaging Cheney for her pusillanimous decision to hide behind an edited quote to boost Kamala Harris in the final days of the presidential campaign.
About this garbage Liz Cheney story…
I think I speak for all veterans of Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq with what I am about to say.
America called on us to go to war. We answered the call because we love our country. We fought bravely. We lost friends. Some gave all, all…
— Cynical Publius (@CynicalPublius) November 1, 2024
“I think I speak for all veterans of Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq with what I am about to say,” he wrote. “America called on us to go to war. We answered the call because we love our country. We fought bravely. We lost friends. Some gave all, all gave some. Those of us who came home without visible scars bear invisible ones. Some who bear those invisible scars take their own lives even today because those scars are too much to bear.”
They counted on all that, though. “What we did not count on though was politicians who would fecklessly throw away our sacrifices like yesterday’s trash for their own political advantage,” he wrote.
“Liz Cheney? Kamala Harris? All those neocon filth who decided they could only fill their thirst for blood as Democrats? YOU pick up a rifle. YOU strap on a ruck. YOU watch your squad leader get his legs blown off by an IED. And if you are too old? Then we’re sending your children.
“If we’re not going to fight wars to win them, we should never fight wars,” he added. “Oh, and you media filth who are lying about what Trump said? Rot in hell, you loathsome scum. OUT.”
There was also Joey Jones, a veteran and Fox News presence with a large social media following, who was even more dismissive:
WARNING: The following post contains graphic language that some viewers will find offensive.
As one of the Marines sent to fight your daddy’s bullshit war I just need you to know active duty and veterans say this about you and those like you all the time. We are not petty, vindictive, cruel or unstable. We’re amputated, mangled, stressed and fed up. https://t.co/m9lUJDOsgm
— Joey Jones (@Johnny_Joey) November 1, 2024
“As one of the Marines sent to fight your daddy’s bulls*** war I just need you to know active duty and veterans say this about you and those like you all the time,” he wrote. “We are not petty, vindictive, cruel or unstable. We’re amputated, mangled, stressed and fed up.”
Which just about says it all. And plenty of people saw it: almost 800,000 views for Publius’ post, and over 1.6 million for Jones’.
Perhaps the Harris campaign and the Cheneys get away with manipulating this quote. Heck, even the Washington Post — where Democracy Dies in Darkness™ and the video clips die after the pull-quote that makes Trump look bad — wasn’t willing to provide readers with the full version of what he said. However, it’s more likely this backfires. American voters are used to this sort of thing now. They’re also used to wars breaking out in distal parts of the globe under the Biden administration. They’d like both things to end, and posthaste. If I were Kamala, I’d be this desperate, too.
C. Douglas Golden is a writer who splits his time between the United States and Southeast Asia. Specializing in political commentary and world affairs, he’s written for Conservative Tribune and The Western Journal since 2014.
C. Douglas Golden is a writer who splits his time between the United States and Southeast Asia. Specializing in political commentary and world affairs, he’s written for Conservative Tribune and The Western Journal since 2014. Aside from politics, he enjoys spending time with his wife, literature (especially British comic novels and modern Japanese lit), indie rock, coffee, Formula One and football (of both American and world varieties).
Birthplace
Morristown, New Jersey
Education
Catholic University of America
Languages Spoken
English, Spanish
Topics of Expertise
American Politics, World Politics, Culture
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