One man’s metaphor is another’s massacre.
This past Thursday, Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) was a guest on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” where he enlarged upon how Democrats could beat Donald Trump in the 2020 election. Tester’s advice to candidates was to stand their ground and not back down when Trump tried to bully them. Watch. (Or if you prefer, read: The transcript follows.)
Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?
I don’t think, even in states where Donald Trump won big, that it does you any good running away from Donald Trump. I think you need to go back and punch him in the face. I mean, the truth is that this guy is bad for the country. [Emphasis added]
Obviously, Tester meant this metaphorically. At least I think he did. Tester’s website has an entry from 2007 titled “Don’t Mess with Tester” that makes him sound like the poster child for toxic masculinity:
At six feet tall and pushing 300 pounds, with a flattop haircut and three fingers missing on this left hand (lost to a meat grinder at age nine), Tester resembles a Midwest wrestling coach on a field trip to Washington, an impression heightened by his habit of addressing staffers by their last names.
But back to his advice last Thursday. Can you imagine if Trump had spoken about punching one his opponents in the face? He’d be pilloried for promoting violence on a 24/7 news cycle covering the comments.
Tester’s statement, however, slipped under the radar.
Beyond Punching
In August of 2018, Tester went above and beyond simply suggesting Trump needed a punch in the face when he teamed up with the rock band Pearl Jam for a fundraising concert. The band issued a promotional poster featuring a bald eagle picking at the skeletal remains of the president in front of a burning White House:
Official artwork by Jeff Ament and Bobby Brown from last night's show in Missoula. #TheAwayShows #Rock2Vote pic.twitter.com/CQI4chGEjs
— Pearl Jam (@PearlJam) August 14, 2018
Fantasies about a dead president. How civil!
Tester isn’t the only Democrat who has adopted a tough guy posture when speaking about Trump. Democratic front runner Joe Biden has been jonesing for a physical fight with the president, telling a crowd on July 5:
He’s the bully that I knew my whole life. He’s the bully that I’ve always stood up to. He’s the bully that used to make fun when I was a kid that I stutter, and I’d smack him in the mouth.
Yet, the media were mum then two. It’s almost as though there’s a … double standard.
Cross posted with modifications at the Mental Recession
