Violent Rhetoric

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18 results.

Exhibit 0016
  • Mocking victims
  • Apologized

Read aloud a post saying "We're digging up Charlie Kirk and doing it again," and laughed, with co-host Angie Sullivan.

Jennifer Welch, Podcaster

. I've Had It podcast.

Kirk was assassinated in September 2025. The segment was cut from the episode; sponsors Cash App and Chewy withdrew.

Apology: Nov 7, 2026: "It was an insensitive joke, and we should not have laughed. We regret it, and we apologize."

Original ↗ (opens in a new tab)Archive copy ↗ (opens in a new tab)Full entry: Jennifer Welch, Nov 5, 2026

Exhibit 0020
  • Incitement
  • Apologized

“He is not only unfit, he is destructive to our democracy, and he has to be eliminated.”

Dan Goldman, Politician

. MSNBC, Inside with Jen Psaki.

About Trump. Goldman said he meant Trump must be defeated in the election.

Apology: Nov 20, 2023: "I mistakenly used the wrong word... I certainly wish no harm to him and do not condone political violence."

Original ↗ (opens in a new tab)Archive copy ↗ (opens in a new tab)Full entry: Dan Goldman, Nov 19, 2023

Exhibit 0005
  • Threat
  • Apologized

“Three people, two bullets. Gilbert, Hitler, and Pol Pot. Gilbert gets two bullets to the head.”

Jay Jones, Politician

. Text messages (published Oct 3, 2025).

Texts to Del. Carrie Coyner about then-House Speaker Todd Gilbert, first published by National Review. Jones was later elected Virginia attorney general.

Apology: Oct 3, 2025: "I take full responsibility for my actions... I am embarrassed, ashamed, and sorry."

Original ↗ (opens in a new tab)Archive copy ↗ (opens in a new tab)Full entry: Jay Jones, Aug 8, 2022

Exhibit 0007
  • Incitement
  • Live

“We've got to stay on the street. And we've got to get more active. We've got to get more confrontational. We've got to make sure that they know that we mean business.”

Maxine Waters, Politician

. Remarks to protesters, Brooklyn Center, Minnesota.

Said if Derek Chauvin was not found guilty. Judge Peter Cahill said the remarks could give the defense grounds for appeal.

Original ↗ (opens in a new tab)Archive copy ↗ (opens in a new tab)Full entry: Maxine Waters, Apr 17, 2021

Exhibit 0002
  • Threat
  • Apologized

“I want to tell you, Gorsuch. I want to tell you, Kavanaugh. You have released the whirlwind and you will pay the price. You won't know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions.”

Chuck Schumer, Politician

. Speech (rally outside the Supreme Court).

Said at an abortion-rights rally during oral argument. Chief Justice Roberts called the remarks "dangerous"; Schumer's office said he meant a political price.

Apology: Mar 5, 2020, on the Senate floor: "I should not have used the words I used yesterday."

Original ↗ (opens in a new tab)Archive copy ↗ (opens in a new tab)Full entry: Chuck Schumer, Mar 4, 2020

Exhibit 0006
  • Incitement
  • Live

“If you see anybody from that Cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd and you push back on them and you tell them they're not welcome anymore, anywhere.”

Maxine Waters, Politician

. Speech (Los Angeles rally).

Said about the family-separation policy. Waters later said she had called for protest, not violence.

Original ↗ (opens in a new tab)Archive copy ↗ (opens in a new tab)Full entry: Maxine Waters, Jun 23, 2018

Exhibit 0004
  • Threat
  • Live

“They asked me would I like to debate this gentleman, and I said no. I said, 'If we were in high school, I'd take him behind the gym and beat the hell out of him.'”

Joe Biden, Politician

. Speech (University of Miami rally).

Said at an It's On Us rally against campus sexual assault, about Trump's Access Hollywood remarks. He had said a similar line in 2016.

Original ↗ (opens in a new tab)Archive copy ↗ (opens in a new tab)Full entry: Joe Biden, Mar 20, 2018

Exhibit 0009
  • Incitement
  • Apologized

“When was the last time an actor assassinated a President? I want to clarify. I'm not an actor. I lie for a living. However, it's been a while, and maybe it's time.”

Johnny Depp, Other public figure

. Remarks on stage, Glastonbury Festival.

An apparent reference to John Wilkes Booth. Depp is an actor, not a political figure.

Apology: Next day: "I apologize for the bad joke I attempted last night in poor taste about President Trump."

Original ↗ (opens in a new tab)Archive copy ↗ (opens in a new tab)Full entry: Johnny Depp, Jun 22, 2017

Exhibit 0001
  • Threat
  • Apologized

Posted a photo, shot by Tyler Shields, of herself holding a bloodied prop head made to look like President Trump. Her caption: "there was blood coming out of his eyes, blood coming out of his ... wherever."

Kathy Griffin, Comedian

. Twitter / Instagram.

Griffin took the image down the same day. The Secret Service said it was looking into it.

Apology: Same day, in a video: "I went too far, I made a mistake, and I was wrong."

Original ↗ (opens in a new tab)Archive copy ↗ (opens in a new tab)Full entry: Kathy Griffin, May 30, 2017

Exhibit 0019
  • Incitement
  • Apologized

“WAKE UP & JOIN THE RESISTANCE. ONCE THE MILITARY IS W US FASCISTS GET OVERTHROWN. MAD KING & HIS HANDLERS GO BYE BYE”

Sarah Silverman, Comedian

. Twitter.

Posted about President Trump two weeks after his inauguration. Walked back, not formally apologized.

Apology: Next day: "FEAR can motivate even peacenik snowflakes 2 incite violence & last night I felt it hard."

Original ↗ (opens in a new tab)Archive copy ↗ (opens in a new tab)Full entry: Sarah Silverman, Feb 2, 2017

Exhibit 0008
  • Threat
  • Apologized

“Yes, I'm angry. Yes, I'm outraged. Yes, I have thought an awful lot about blowing up the White House. But I know that this won't change anything.”

Madonna, Other public figure

. Speech (Women's March, Washington).

She went on to say "I choose love." Quoted with her own qualifier.

Apology: Next day, on Instagram: "I am not a violent person, I do not promote violence"; she said she "spoke in metaphor."

Original ↗ (opens in a new tab)Archive copy ↗ (opens in a new tab)Full entry: Madonna, Jan 21, 2017