Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) said that Donald Trump had radicalized Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ).
Video of Rep. Swalwell:
Eric Swalwell said on #TheLastWord that Paul Gosar was radicalized by Donald Trump and that his anime video was a call to action for violence against Congress. pic.twitter.com/2YU4bqJcPI
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) November 18, 2021
Rep. Swalwell said on MSNBC’s The Last Word:
It’s hard to watch Jennifer Gosar, frankly, to see any family member lose a brother. I mean, these are people that grew up together with the same parents, lived in the same house, and she’s condemning her brother on national television. I don’t take that lightly. Her brother was radicalized by Donald Trump. He was never condemned by Kevin McCarthy and he’s been unleashed on the Congress and, you know, Lawrence, you could rightfully say why do we care what Paul go — Paul Gosar puts on the internet? There is weird stuff out there so if Paul Gosar wants to fly around with swords, who cares?
We care because Paul Gosar is a member of Congress and millions of people watched that video, and the temperature in Washington is quite hot. It’s quite volatile here because many of us spent hours in a safe room as rioters were attacking police officers before we could get back to the floor, and so when he has a fantasy about beheading one of my colleagues, it’s not a fantasy to think that this could be a call to action from people who watched it online.
Gosar has been radicalized in a similar way to someone being radicalized by al-Qaeda or ISIS.
Rep. Swalwell was correct. People like Paul Gosar took to Donald Trump like gasoline and a match. Gosar may have been on his way to radicalization before Trump came along, but the failed former president took it to a whole other dangerous level.
Donald Trump has radicalized the Republican Party, and anyone who treats this threat like politics, as usual, is endangering America.
Mr. Easley is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association