What if the terrorist who shot two state legislators in Minnesota had been a Muslim instead of a white Evangelical?

Again, ask yourself the question:

What if the man who killed Democratic State Legislator Melissa Hortman and her husband, and seriously wounded another State Senator and his wife, was named Mahmoud or Ibrahim instead of Vance Luther Boelter?

What if the shooter was known to worship at a mosque in Minneapolis, instead of, according to the police, being a member in high standing of the Evangelical Church? Vance Boelter, in fact, was an outspoken evangelical Christian who once travelled to Africa to tell his faith story and, in at least one sermon, pointedly questioned American morals on sexual orientation, according to videos and social media posts reviewed by CNN.

The declaration Boelter left behind in his van threatened deadly violence against another seventy individuals, including former and current politicians, doctors, community and business leaders, as well as locations for Planned Parenthood and other healthcare centers.

But what if, instead, that declaration were framed as a protest against Trump’s harsh deportation policies or U.S. support for Israel’s war in Gaza? Indeed, what if Boelter was an undocumented Venezuelan or Salvadoran immigrant, vowing reprisal for Trump’s war against immigrants?

In fact, the authorities have so far refused to release Boelter’s statement of purpose. They’re probably determined to deprive the killer of the momentary satisfaction of having his hate-filled screed broadcast around the globe.

On the other hand, do you think that if that declaration had included rabid threats from a Muslim or Latino, that document somehow would not have leaked to the press? It would have made fine fodder for Trump’s oratory at the Army Parade in Washington?

Can you imagine how Trump would have used the killings to escalate the rhetoric against Muslims, immigrants, university presidents, opposition Governors and Woke liberals?

Can you imagine the chorus of acclaim and threats of violent reprisals and sweeping investigations from the sycophants who surround Trump--delighted to pour more gasoline on the blaze of hatred and fear of the other?

Instead, Trump condemned the "terrible shooting" and declared that “such horrific violence will not be tolerated" in the United States of America.

What is remarkable is how he said all that with a straight face. And the media reported it with scarcely a smirk.

Isn’t Trump the greatest instigator of the violence currently sweeping America?

(And arguably much of the globe?)

Can you blame chauvinistic American patriots for not heeding their President’s dark warnings of the fate awaiting their country if they don’t immediately act? We’re talking fending off the invasion of immigrants “criminals, murderers and rapists.”

"They're poisoning the blood of our country." (Trump, December 2023,)

"Migrant crime is through the roof, and it's violent crime, with the knives and the guns. It's violent crime." (August 14, 2024,

Can you blame gung-ho Americans from seeking revenge on traitors like Kamala Harris, "As borders are, she flooded America with savage, illegal alien criminals who have been raping, pillaging, and killing our cities and our towns." (August 23, 2024,

The list of Trump and his regime’s suggested targets goes on and on, from judges to university presidents, congressmen, journalists, economists and entertainers—all dire threats to the nation.

What more encouragement do Trump’s radical, wild-eyed followers need?

Particularly when their president has already issued a get out of jail free card for past violent actions. Since he retook office, he has already pardoned more than 1,500 individuals associated with the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack. That included a blanket pardon for most, and commutations for 14 prominent figures, such as leaders of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers.

They’ve proudly rejoined the rising tide of violence from the radical right. But rather than investigating that threat, the Trump administration has gone after prominent liberal and democratic leaders—anyone opposing their policies.

Trump’s regime went out of its way to provoke a violent reaction to provocative arrests by immigration authorities in Los Angeles. Then, they used that reaction to justify moving thousands of troops into Los Angeles, over the protests of the State’s Governor and Los Angeles’s Chief of Police.

You can be assured that more carnage is to come.

According to the New York Times, violent threats against lawmakers hit a record high last year, for the second year in a row. Since the 2020 election, state and local election officials have become targets of violent threats and harassment, as have federal judges, prosecutors, and other court officials. As of April, there have been more than 170 incidents of threats and harassment targeting local officials across nearly 40 states this year, according to data gathered for the Bridging Divides Initiative at Princeton University.”

Ironically, among the hundreds of programs cut by the Trump administration since he took office is one that seeks to prevent targeted violence. The Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships, part of the Department of Homeland Security, aimed to reduce violent extremism through intervention programs in schools, workplaces, and government offices.

Bottom line— while Donald Trump has portrayed immigrants and tourists from Muslim countries as representing an unacceptable threat to America’s security, in fact, the danger is not from without, but from within, from red-blooded Americans, egged on and abetted by a deranged American president.