Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz says The Washington Post is "obviously green-lighting assassination" of Donald Trump after the newspaper ran an opinion piece about the dire consequences of a second Trump presidency. His claim is not only unfounded but also a misrepresentation of the article's content and intent.
The November 30 Post piece, written by Robert Kagan, is titled "A Trump dictatorship is increasingly inevitable. We should stop pretending." It predicts, among other things, that a second Trump presidency would result in a dictatorship with a complicit (or powerless) Congress, a supportive (or intimidated) media, and a populace either too fearful or too disengaged to resist.
Kagan's article does not mention, imply, or suggest the assassination of Trump or any illegal actions against him. In fact, it does not even provide specific advice or strategies for preventing a Trump victory.
The Washington Post publishes a variety of opinion pieces that reflect the views and analyses of their authors, which is a standard practice in journalism and is protected under the First Amendment. In fact, just today, the Post ran an opinion piece by Greg Sargent titled, "Enough with all the fatalism about a Trump dictatorship" that argues against Kagan's forecast.
It's far less of a stretch to say that Gaetz is attempting to stifle journalistic freedom than The Washington Post is of calling for the assassination of Trump.
