Former president Trump suggested that the U.S. could see intensifying political violence, after saying that tensions were reaching a boiling point. Asked by former Fox News host Tucker Carlson whether the nation is headed toward open conflict, Trump responded: “I don’t know. I can say this: There’s a level of passion that I’ve never seen. There’s a level of hatred that I’ve never seen. And that’s probably a bad combination,” the Washington Post reports. Trump compared the current volatile mix of passion and hatred to the crowd on Jan. 6, 2021, and pivoted to defending his supporters who attacked the U.S. Capitol that day, describing the violent assault as a day of “love and unity.” He told Carlson, “Jan. 6 was a very interesting day because they don’t report it properly ... People in that crowd said it was the most beautiful day they ever experienced. There was love and unity. I have never seen such spirit and such passion and such love. And I’ve also never seen, simultaneously and from the same people, such hatred at what they’ve done to our country.”
As the polling leader for the Republican nomination, Trump has repeatedly declined to condemn or rule out political violence. As a candidate, in 2015 and 2016, he encouraged rallygoers to rough up hecklers and protesters. As president, in 2017, he defended white nationalist marchers in Charlottesville, one of whom killed a counterprotester, saying there were “very fine people on both sides.” In a 2020 presidential debate, he told the Proud Boys violent extremist group to “stand back and stand by.” On Jan. 6, 2021, and ever since he has praised his supporters who attacked police and broke into the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to overturn the 2020 election. In interviews since being indicted in several separate criminal cases, Trump has avoided answering questions relating to potential violence. In a local talk radio interview in Iowa in July, host Doug Wagner repeatedly pressed Trump on the prospect of how his supporters could react if he were detained pending trial. “It’s a dangerous thing to even talk about because we do have a very passionate group of voters,” Trump said. “Nobody’s even suggested this except you.”