A long, hard week

 

September 11, 2025

There are weeks that feel longer than they are, and weeks when every single day is hard. This was a long, hard week.   Once again, the specter of violence that hangs over our political discourse turned into a tragic reality. All of us who engage in public debate — whether about politics or ideas — know it comes with risks. Yet none of us are prepared to witness the kind of violence we saw on Wednesday.   Unlike others, I will not pretend to offer solutions or even a proper diagnosis of how we arrived at this moment. Here’s what I can say with certainty: the threats of more violence and of more extreme responses increase with every passing day.   Not all those responses will be as violent or as tragic as what we witnessed this week. Some will be subtler and more easily dismissed: a social media post, harassment at events, the publicizing of private information. But they will be responses, nonetheless.   Perhaps the most alarming response will come from the White House. While Trump provided some comments on Wednesday night, if history is any guide, the worst from him is yet to come in late night social media posts and less scripted moments with the media.    When I served as Senator Al Franken’s lead recount lawyer after the 2008 Minnesota Senate election, I was in public spaces nearly every day. The courtroom where the two-month election contest took place was open to the public. There were no magnetometers at the entrance. Yet, I rarely worry about security.

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A decade later, in 2018, I played the same role for Florida Sen. Bill Nelson. Two days after the election — before I had even set foot in the state — Trump falsely accused me of fraud:   “As soon as Democrats sent their best Election stealing lawyer, Marc Elias, to Broward County they miraculously started finding Democrat votes. Don’t worry, Florida—I am sending much better lawyers to expose the FRAUD!”   As a result, for the first time in my career, I required a full security detail simply to do my job as a lawyer.   This was not the last time it happened.   Earlier this year, Donald Trump told an audience of Justice Department officials that another lawyer and I were “bad people, really bad people” and “radicals” who were trying “to turn America into a corrupt, communist, third-world country.”   None of this is meant to diminish the horror we witnessed in Utah or to suggest that I face the same level of threat or hate as many others. Rather, it is to point out that we are likely to see a response from Trump that escalates threats against his perceived political opponents.   As I mentioned, on Wednesday evening, Trump addressed the nation from the Oval Office, claiming that the left's rhetoric “is directly responsible for the terrorism that we’re seeing in our country today.”   This is not new. For the past seven months, Trump has demonized those who fight for democracy and weaponized the government against them.    Democratic senators have been thrown to the ground and threatened with criminal prosecution. A Democratic congressman has been indicted for conducting oversight of an ICE facility. Senior civilian and military officials have been dismissed for failing to prove personal loyalty to Trump. Private companies and nonprofit organizations are subjected to scurrilous attacks and politically motivated investigations. Judges who rule against the administration are threatened and demeaned.   I could go on.   Like most people, when I heard the news on Wednesday, I was shocked, stunned and saddened. But when I saw Trump’s reaction, I was not surprised. He is going to use this tragedy to seek vengeance — not against the perpetrator, but against an entire political movement whose only “crime” is opposing his authoritarian actions.   It does not matter what motivated the assassin in this case. Trump will use this awful moment as justification to attack anyone — and everyone — who stands up against him, his agenda and the MAGA movement. Indeed, he has already begun to do just that.   Nothing about the events of this week will deter me from standing up for democracy and our country.    This fight is the challenge of our generation. It is not one we sought, but it is the one we have been handed. Here’s the sad reality: even amidst this genuine tragedy, Trump will do anything to achieve and maintain power.    We are living in hard, frightening times. If you need it, take some time to process the events of this week. I will be here. I will remain in this fight. I hope you’ll stay with me.

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