Why the right thinks everyone they don't like is a terrorist
Explaining the Right is a weekly series that looks at what the right wing is currently obsessing over, how it influences politics—and why you need to know. Republican lawmakers have been in overdrive the past two weeks, lashing out against Saturday’s “No Kings” protests. Instead of addressing the protestors’ main concern—President Donald Trump’s numerous abuses of power—Republicans have targeted the movement with over-the-top attacks. The GOP smears “No Kings” House Speaker Mike Johnson has insisted that the anti-Trump rallies are evidence of a “hate America” movement and are part of a supposed “pro-Hamas wing” of the Democratic Party. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy complained in one Fox News interview that the rallies would feature “paid protestors” and members of the “antifa” movement. These descriptions defy reality. The previous “No Kings” protests, which occurred in June, brought out an estimated 4-6 million people peacefully expressing their dissent, a far cry from the GOP’s nightmarish demagoguery. The latest round of smears echoes previous Republican arguments depicting their political opposition as terrorists or allied with terrorists. The smear isn’t new Trump loves to use this tactic. During the 2024 election cycle, Trump wasn’t satisfied with merely expressing his opposition to the Democratic Party. Instead, he insisted that an “enemy within” the country was a threat. Trump argued that the “enemy within” was such a problem that the “radical left lunatics” who were a part of it might need to be “handled” by the military and National Guard—a preview of his current policy. Years before that, in his first term, Trump promoted the false notion that public protests against him and investigations of his wrongdoing were the work of the so-called deep state. This theory, cribbed from fellow conspiracy theorists like Alex Jones, argues that entrenched bureaucracy is opposing his agenda and destabilizing the government, and that it is in cahoots with the Democratic Party and progressive movement. Trump and his acolytes are not alone in embracing this tactic and rhetoric. In 2005, as the United States was deeply engaged in the Iraq War, then-President George W. Bush’s senior adviser Karl Rove made a similar charge. In a speech, Rove said, “Liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers.” This was meant to characterize opposition to the war as giving aid and comfort to the al-Qaida terrorist group. In reality, there was no connection between the Iraqi government and the 9/11 attacks, nor was the Middle Eastern nation in possession of weapons of mass destruction, which the Bush administration used to justify the war. The fearmongering was the product of disinformation by Rove, Bush, and others in the administration. Smears instead of an argument Equating political opposition with terrorism is part of the Republican scheme to squelch dissent and stigmatize those who deviate from GOP orthodoxy. The party’s strategy against dissent can also be seen in its effort to gerrymander congressional districts in a manner that overrepresents Republicans in Congress. The same tactic was also recently showcased when the Trump-appointed head of the Federal Communications Commission sought to silence comedian Jimmy Kimmel, who regularly mocks Trump. By invoking terrorism where it doesn’t exist, the GOP is nakedly attempting to deflect the public attention from the opposition’s arguments, without the party having to honestly confront and rebut them. Conservatism’s support for violence and fakery All the while, the conservative movement often has an element of fakery and extremism attached to it. In the 2010s, the “tea party” movement meant to oppose the actions of the Obama administration were depicted as grassroots. But much of it was funded by wealthy Republican donors, like the Koch brothers, who sought to decrease government oversight of their business empires. Conservatism, led by Trump at the moment, has regularly embraced bigoted stunts. And Trump allies himself with violent groups like the Proud Boys, infamously telling them in 2020 to “stand back and stand by.” Republicans have struggled to persuade a majority of the public to embrace their extremist agenda. While the party has had success at winning elections, most people support a safety net, oppose racism and misogyny, and don’t want the government intruding on their personal lives. Instead of working to get voters on board with its far-right agenda, Republicans find it easier to brand peaceful, pro-democracy protesters as the real terrorists. But that doesn’t make it true.