Trump had an opportunity today to denounce the bomb threats in Springfield and perhaps help defuse the situation there, but He didn't.
Reporter: Do you denounce the bomb threats in Springfield?
Trump: I don't know what happened with the bomb threats. I know that it's been taken over by illegal migrants, and that's a terrible thing that happened.
That's the more "ugly" part of our politics.
When candidates are in the position where denouncing heinous actions are "dodgy" questions because offending extremists could cost people elections, that should be cause a self reflection period.
It's reminiscent of the 2020 debates and political climate where it was:
"Do you denounce the Proud Boys?"
vs.
"Do you denounce Antifa?"
...and they had to deflect with answers like:
"I'm not familiar with the Proud Boys"
and
"Antifa is just an idea, it's not a group"
If the "loonies" were really just "the fringe" as we're led to believe, then they wouldn't be walking on eggshells to avoid upsetting them. The fact that they'll dodge and avoid saying certain things that may alienate them is a solid indicator that the "loonies" make up a larger portion of the electorate than maybe some would like to believe.
To sound like a broken record, a lot of this could get sorted out if we had 4 political parties instead of 2. Two conservative parties, two liberal parties, the loonies in each faction could gravitate to their respective extreme parties, and that would leave the reasonable people knowing which two respectable options were on the table... we could get back to a place where the sane portion of the electorate could have an "Obama V. Romney" type of choice instead of what we're stuck with now.
