Trump retweets video declaring 'the only good Democrat is a dead Democrat'

President Trump has retweeted a video where a supporter declares "the only good Democrat is a dead Democrat" — and the man's explanation behind the comment is even more violent.

Trump retweeted a video from the account Cowboys for Trump at midnight Thursday, in which the leader of the group Couy Griffin declares "the only good Democrat is a dead Democrat." Griffin then explains he doesn't mean it "in the physical sense," but rather "in the political sense" because "the Democrat policy and agenda is anti-American right now." A generous interpretation of the video would suggest Griffin is trying to compliment Democrats of the past, but he never quite makes that point.

The Cowboys for Trump tweet comes in response to a Daily Beast article covering Griffin's rally at a New Mexico church, which he held to defy the state's COVID-19 social distancing orders. The Daily Beast asked Griffin to clarify his "dead Democrat" comment in an interview after the Tuesday rally, but he only repeated the statement and suggested that top Democrats enforcing social distancing will "get to pick your poison: you either go before a firing squad, or you get the end of the rope."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up