Election officials on both sides of the political aisle are outraged at Trumpworld Republicans suddenly condemning violent rhetoric after years of language they say has made voting in America more dangerous than ever before.
Republicans and Democrats who manage election are fuming that the violent threats they faced — and the ultimate source of those threats — continue to be ignored by MAGA conservatives, the Washington Post reported Friday.
“The same people who are deflecting and projecting are the same people who have been fanning the flame of extremism,” one Republican told the Post. “They project that message to their followers — without any, any, any recognition that their guy has really been the worst actor in all of this.”
The Republican, who asked not to be named for fear of retribution, was one of two to express disbelief "as members of their party sought to blame everyone but themselves for the combustible political environment," the Post reports.
Republican rhetoric challenging without evidence the 2020 election has motivated attacks and threats that sent some election officials into hiding, the Post reports.
Fears aren't limited to official with public-facing jobs.
Truck drivers who deliver ballots and election equipment mechanics are reported "under the magnifying glass by fraud-hunting MAGA Republicans" who are inspired by Trump’s false election claims, the Post reports.
Those claims have been echoed by MAGA supporters such as Kari Lake, the Senate hopeful from Arizona who still refuses to accept she lost her gubernatorial bid in 2022.
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Lake has repeatedly hurled baseless claims at election officials, who received numerous violent threats, telling roaring crowds in April, “We are going to put on the armor of God and maybe strap on a Glock on the side of us just in case."
In response to the Post's request for comment, Lake's campaign claimed she “has never advocated for political violence."
Such claims infuriate election officials such as Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, a Democrat who told the Post he's outraged at the lack of repercussions for Republicans' violent rhetoric.
“The hardest thing to swallow is how suddenly the tables have completely turned," Fontes reportedly said. "There’s no accountability for the comments that have opened the door for so many threats in the past several years."
Norm Eisen, the ethics czar of President Barack Obama's administration, told the Post he believed there was a lone source of the threats election officials continue to face.
“All of this is the direct result of this climate of intimidation that Trump and those around him have created," Eisen said. "And they are experiencing this moment as one of hypocrisy and gaslighting — although, like all of us, they condemn the shooting.”
The Post report concludes with a grim note about another potential consequence of the assassination attempt Trump survived in Pennsylvania last weekend.
"Election officials worry the assassination attempt could inspire other violent acts," the Post reports. "Some are quietly reassessing their security plans while holding no expectations that the climate will improve in the near term."
