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Triggered by a MAGA hat?

By Scott Tibbs, November 9, 2018

Donald Trump is a polarizing figure, and his pugilistic nature does not help on that score. But if Leftists think they are going to change any minds or win any votes with hysterical arguments about how Trump is a Hitler-like figure, they are deceiving themselves. That may get a few cries of "right on!" from like-minded people, but it will not move moderates to your side and it most certainly will not convert any Trump supporters.

This leads me to this post on Twitter, where a blue check verified user decided to publicly shame a man wearing a baseball cap in support of the President of these United States. A woman beside him claimed that the hat supports the "murder" and "evisceration" of black people, Jews and immigrants. She claimed people were "upset, angry, and scared" by the hat - as if he was wearing a swastika armband or something.

This is completely insane. This is completely detached from reality. Trump often speaks without thinking, and was too slow to denounce racists who supported him in 2016. But the fact is that this is a President with prominent Jewish advisors, whose eldest daughter married a Jew and converted to Judaism. President Trump moved the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. White nationalists and neo-Nazis are idiots if they think Trump is on their side. Being an idiot is kind of a requirement for being a neo-Nazi. They are very low-IQ people.

Perhaps in her grief and anguish over the horrific mass murder of Jews by a truly evil man, this woman actually did think that a MAGA hat represents a threat to her and others. It does not help her deal with her grief by posting and endorsing a hysterical outburst on a verified Twitter account. This man is cynically exploiting the pain and grief of a "friend" because he wants to take a shot at the Republican Party. It is shameful.

Much has been said about taming the rhetoric that leads to partisan rancor and increased tribalism. Tweets like this one only continue to divide and stir up anger on both sides. It inflames people who hate Trump to hate him more, and it inflames Trump supporters who are justifiably angry about being falsely accused of supporting the mass murder of blacks, immigrants and Jews. Nothing productive comes from this rhetoric.