Morrisey, the aging British musician, has suggested that if he could assassinate President Donald Trump, he would do so “for the sake of humanity.” The singer has been known to make wild statements about political figures. By all accounts, he did not find much use for President Barack Obama either, though he failed short of advocating that he be killed. However, like many people in the entertainment business, Morrisey is not thinking his bloodlust through.

Assassination is frowned upon

Assassinating public figures is not something that civilized societies favor, even when such people are controversial.

The murders of President Abraham Lincoln and President John Kennedy caused periods of national trauma and revulsion that the people who perpetrated them had not anticipated. The assassinations of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King made 1968, already a bad year in American history, even worse. Even unsuccessful murders, such as that of President Ronald Reagan in 1981, caused considerable anger and fear.

One suspects that Morrisey’s ranting has attracted the attention of the Secret Service. Just as Kathy Griffin got an uncomfortable visit by federal agents, one suspects that the British rocker is about to get an extreme interview, though likely by agents of his own country’s security services.

One also wonders if he will be allowed to tour in the United States any longer.

Assassinations have unforeseen consequences

Murders of politicians often result in developments that those who commit them do not like. The death of Abraham Lincoln at the hands of a Confederate fanatic and actor John Wilkes Booth created a much harsher reconstruction period in the south than otherwise might have been the case.

Kennedy’s assassination allowed Lyndon Johnson to pass much of his predecessor’s agenda from civil rights to tax cuts to the Apollo program. Reagan survived his murder attempt, but he was able to parlay public sympathy to pass tax cuts.

The left has become somewhat blood crazed when it comes to American presidents they don’t like.

A movie was made depicting the assassination of then-President George W. Bush. Now celebrities are musing about the violent end of the Trump presidency. Apparently, people like Kathy Griffin and Morrissey have not thought things through.

One could see the newly sworn-in President Mike Pence passing much of the Trump agenda as a memorial to the fallen President Trump. The border wall would become the most tangible manifestation of that phenomenon.

The national security state, especially if the author of the death of President Trump are Islamist terrorists, would be strengthened beyond reason. It will be a long time before dissent could be made to a conservative administration with any degree of safety. It is best, therefore, to combat Trump and his policies, if one is so inclined, though the political process.
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