Remember when Trump said there'd be a "bloodbath" if he loses in November?
Donald Trump has said many disturbing things over the years. However, on March 16, the former-president really took things farther than ever before and his comments were very concerning.
Donald Trump gave a jarring speech in Ohio on March 16 in an attempt to boost himself as the preferred Republican candidate in the Ohio primary race. A combination of confusing statements and doomsday predictions of a "bloodbath" if he doesn't win the presidential elections in November left rally attendees confused and some questioning (once again) Trump's cognitive capabilities.
As reported by The Guardian, Trump left the crowd in Ohio confused when he spoke about how Biden beat "Barack Hussein Obama" in national elections.
Trump said, "You know what's interesting? Joe Biden won against Barack Hussein Obama. Has anyone ever heard of him? Every swing state, Biden beat Obama, but in every other state, he got killed."
Of course, this never happened. Joe Biden simply served as Obama's vice president from 2009 to 2017 until he was elected president in 2020.
Naturally, Biden took the opportunity to use Trump's mistake against him at dinner in Washington, D.C., on the day Donald Trump made his statement, saying, "One candidate is too old and mentally unfit to be president. The other one is me." Biden continued, "Don't tell him. He thinks he's running against Barack Obama, that's what he said."
Trump also spoke about immigrants at the rally and unabashedly shared his true thoughts on foreigners who arrive in the United States. According to the New York Times, Trump repeated unsubstantiated claims that foreign countries were sending people from their mental institutions and prisons to the United States and even called immigrants "animals."
"I don't know if you call them people. They're not people, in my opinion," Trump said. "But I'm not allowed to say that because the radical left says that's a terrible thing to say."
However, Donald Trump's confusion with Obama and xenophobic comments were the least worrying of the things that the former president said during the Ohio rally. What really got everyone talking was his claim that if he doesn't win in November, there will be a "bloodbath."
According to the New York Times, after discussing how he would put tariffs on cars manufactured abroad if he is elected president, Donald Trump said, "Now, if I don't get elected, it's going to be a bloodbath for the whole — that's going to be the least of it. It's going to be a blood bath for the country."
Later, during his speech, Trump also told the public this could be the last election in America, saying, "I don't think you're going to have another election in this country, if we don't win this election… certainly not an election that's meaningful."
The New York Times reported that the Biden campaign issued a statement following the Ohio rally regarding Trump's statements, claiming that Donald Trump's comments demonstrate that he is doubling "down on threats of political violence."
Biden campaign spokesperson James Singer said, "He wants another January 6, but the American people are going to give him another electoral defeat this November because they continue to reject his extremism, his affection for violence, and his thirst for revenge."
According to CNN, Donald Trump's spokesman, Steven Cheung, defended Trump's comments, insisting that Trump was only talking about the economy and the auto industry and not promoting political violence. Cheung, in a written statement, said, "Crooked Joe Biden and his campaign are engaging in deceptively, out-of-context editing."
However, many don't buy Cheung's remarks. David Cohen wrote a piece for Politico titled 'Reaction to Trump's speech: When is' a bloodbath' not a bloodbath?' The article suggests that Republicans are simply performing mental acrobatics to defend Trump's remarks and avoid the fact that many MAGA fans take nearly everything Donald Trump says literally.
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who spoke on NBC's 'Meet the Press,' defended Trump's March 16 "bloodbath" comments but, as Cohen pointed out in Politico, also acknowledged that Trump's manner of speaking leaves him vulnerable to criticism.
Cassidy said, "The general tone of the speech is why many Americans continue to wonder, 'Should President Trump be president?' That kind of rhetoric, it's always on the edge, maybe doesn't cross, maybe does depending upon your perspective."
Donald Trump's comments, regardless of his intention, are dangerous. The world saw on January 6 how Trump's followers aren't afraid of violence. One can't help but wonder if Trump is preparing the terrain for riots or even a civil war if he does not win in November 2024.