Y

ou can understand why so many love Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump for being outspoken, for telling it like it is, for not getting bogged down in political-speech and instead stating in simple terms concepts and ideas that have broad appeal.

But you can also understand criticism of Trump from those who say his comments are likely contributing to a surge in violence we’ve seen at recent Trump rallies.

Last week at a rally in North Carolina, a supporter sucker punched a young protestor in the face, then afterward was quoted as saying maybe next time he’d have to “kill him (the protestor).”

Instead of saying such violence and comments are clearly inappropriate and not acceptable, Trump said of the punch-throwing supporter, “He obviously loves this country and maybe he doesn’t like seeing what’s happening to this country.”  

So love of country is an acceptable excuse for sucker punching someone in the face?

The New York Times recapped a number of Trump comments related to violence at his rallies in recent day:

“I’d like to punch him in the face, I’ll tell you.”

“In the good old days this doesn’t happen, because they used to treat them very, very rough.”

“I love the good old days. You know what they used to do to guys like that when they were in a place like this? They’d be carried out on a stretcher, folks.”

“If you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of them, would ya? Seriously. Just knock the hell out of them.”

We’re not talking about a pro wrestling promoter making these sorts of over-the-top comments but a candidate for president of our country.

There is no question that if protestors disrupt a rally, they should be removed. If appropriate, they should be charged with disturbing the peace or other appropriate legal charges and face the legal consequences.

But handling the protestors is the job for law enforcement officials, not just regular folks.

There is no excuse, no justification for sucker punching someone in the face. That Trump didn’t disavow this incident in particular and has not been more clear about calling for his supporters to stay peaceful is not appropriate, just as it would not be appropriate for any other candidate.

There’s too much intolerance for other people’s beliefs, including among protestors who would go over the line to disrupt a Trump political rally.

But less tolerance would be a good thing when it comes to making excuses for those on any side who act with violence against those with whom they disagree.

WILL CHAPMAN

PUBLISHER