Carol Platt Liebau: Reckless Rhetoric

Thursday, April 30, 2026

Our First Amendment is a cherished guarantee. Every American has the right to criticize elected officials — even in harsh terms — so long as there’s no incitement to imminent violence.

But having a right to say something doesn’t necessarily make it right to say. And too many in our cultural elite have normalized reckless rhetoric about President Trump.

Among others, ABC host Jimmy Kimmel recently “joked” about the First Lady becoming an “expectant widow.” Congressman Dan Goldman called for Trump to be “eliminated” from public life. Former President Biden urged putting Trump “in the bulls-eye.”

None of that is illegal, nor are they responsible for a criminal’s actions. But after three attempts on President Trump’s life, left-wing elites should ask themselves whether flirting with assassination rhetoric is morally defensible — even if they have every right to engage in it.

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