Matt Margolis, a conservative columnist, was talking about the left wing threats to Donald Trump. Unfortunately, these are real and not particularly helpful. Many people believe that he won the 2024 election when he stood up after the assassination attempt in Pennsylvania.

I am no fan of Trump but I think assassinating him is a bad idea and wrong. First, he is a human being. It is vitally important for us to recognize that unlikeable people will always be a part of our lives. Yes, he is an asshole, but assholes deserve the same rights as we do — even if they are acting pretty dangerously.

This is why we respect the rights of murderers despite their unforgivable behavior. Murderers deserve to be heard. This is particularly important when the sentence is death. So this means I have to accept Donald Trump, as a fellow human being, shouldn’t be killed because some person, acting on his own judgement, decides Trump must die.

Let’s forget the Hitler comparisons too. Trump is disturbing. He has authoritarian instincts and needs to be checked at every possible opportunity but he fails miserably as a Hitler. Comparing Trump to Hitler is unfair to Hitler. Trump doesn’t even come close to Hitler’s evil machinations. Judges are still independent, the press is still free and the Democrats are still vocal, if a little ineffective, in opposition. He also has, after almost universal criticism, backed down on tariffs.

Cutting off the head to end Trumpism is a rather naive and lazy. It allows you to think the problem is handled when it hasn’t been handled at all. Half the country voted for the man. They will all still be alive after Trump’s death. How will they respond to an attack on their man. Something tells me it could bring on more violence. Once there is a body count it is difficult to see how things will end well.

Here is the bottom line for me: You can be both appalled by the attack on Governor Shapiro and be OK with Luigi Mangione killing a CEO at the same time. The same applies for Trump. Once you accept political violence as OK for your side, you also are tacitly approving it for anyone who disagrees with you. You don’t abhor violence, you abhor violence being used against your side. This is why anyone who uses political violence has to be condemned.

Is it a gamble. Yes it is a better bet for me than the alternative.