‘Assassination Culture’: Half of Left-leaning Americans say assassinating Trump, Musk is justified

The Network Contagion Research Institute and Rutgers University’s Social Perception Lab released a report Monday titled “Assassination Culture: How Burning Teslas and Killing Billionaires Became a Meme Aesthetic for Political Violence.” The data included in the report is based on responses collected from 1,264 U.S. adults. The main takeaway from the report is that, “A broader ‘assassination culture’ appears to be emerging within segments of the U.S. public on the extreme left.”

“This report points to disturbingly high levels of support for political violence, particularly targeting President Donald Trump and Elon Musk. Across survey responses, nearly one-third of respondents — and a significantly higher share of left-leaning respondents — expressed some degree of justification for acts of lethal violence,” the report stated. 

“Unless political and cultural leadership explicitly confronts and condemns this trend, [a] growing probability of real-world escalation” exists, the report added. “Given the current economic volatility and institutional distrust, the online normalization of political violence may increasingly translate into offline action.” 

“Taken together, the findings underscore the erosion of democratic norms and the growing acceptability of political violence in American discourse, particularly among ideologically extreme communities online,” the report warned. “Continued monitoring and broader measurement efforts are urgently needed.” 

Fortunately for Christians, God has revealed how this story plays out, and we know it is both good news and bad news. The good news is that Jesus’s return is imminent, but the bad news is that God allows Satan to refine His church and to do his utmost to deceive the world. The following Scripture is Jesus’s response to the disciples’ question about what it will be like in the end times before He returns to restore righteousness.

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” Matthew 24:9-13

We cannot say that Jesus did not warn us. It is time to draw close to God to ensure we do what He has called and prepared us to do.