leagueofaveragefolk:

winterizedt51b:

its not right to say the MAGA bomber was “radicalized by trump. his grandparents were anti-communist militants in the philippines, he was a reactionary before trump came along, he got it from his family, he just flocked to trump bc he liked him.

trump didnt create fascism, and he didnt create the alt-right, its so important to remember this so we dont fall into the same clownery that #Resistance liberals fall into.

These groups existed before trump and they’ll exist after. However, by using the language they use, by vilifying groups they vilify, by calling people who disagree with him enemies of America, trump is telling them he is one of them. Every far right asshole who harbors enough hate to assault, bomb, and shoot those different from themselves feels that they have a friend at the highest level of the American government.

So no, trump may not have unilaterally radicalized these individuals. But would they be attacking who they attack with a greater frequency if he wasn’t making them feel that they have the support of the White House?