Political Defamation Is An Attack On Self-Government

How political defamation can corrupt public judgment and make violence seem legitimate

Steve Wolfer | October 6, 2026

An August 2026 University of Chicago CPOST survey found that 25% of American adults, including 44% of Democrats, agreed that force was justified to remove Donald Trump from the presidency. Discussing earlier polling, Robert Pape said 55% of force supporters meant lethal violence, including assassination. (See, e.g., cpost.uchicago.edu, cbsnews.com)

What kind of country are we leaving our children and grandchildren when killing a political opponent enters the public’s consideration as a way to settle who governs?

We have already seen violence entering American politics. At Trump’s July 2024 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, gunfire struck Trump, killed Corey Comperatore, and wounded two other spectators. Congressman Steve Scalise was shot at a Republican congressional baseball practice in 2017; the attacker had posted anti-Republican views and asked which party was practicing. A man who traveled to Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s home with weapons pleaded guilty to attempted murder. (See, e.g., fbi.gov, fbi.gov, justice.gov)

These events do not establish that a particular smear caused a particular attack. They establish that the danger is real. We need to examine what can make violence against political opponents seem acceptable, even righteous.

One powerful contributor is the deliberate destruction of a person’s reputation through falsehood. Political defamation can turn a disagreement about government into a struggle against someone portrayed as too evil to deserve ordinary rights. To someone already inclined toward violence, an assassination may begin to look like an act of rescue.

A corrupt politician deserves exposure. So does an official who abuses children, steals public money, or threatens people’s rights. Citizens need accurate knowledge of those acts to govern themselves. The wrong begins when someone invents the misconduct, knowingly circulates a false accusation, or recklessly treats suspicion as an........

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