‘Not acceptable’: Dan Turrentine calls on Dems to admit they were ‘wrong’ to call Trump ‘fascist’

Former Democratic strategist Dan Turrentine on Monday’s “The Morning Meeting” urged his party to acknowledge it made a mistake by labeling President Donald Trump as a “fascist” following the assassination of Turning Point USA (TPUSA) founder Charlie Kirk.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris campaigned on Trump being “fascist” in 2024, and Democratic Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett has repeatedly used “Hitler” to refer to the president, including after Kirk’s assassination on Wednesday. Turrentine said on the 2WAY show that such heated and misleading rhetoric can incite violence and that now is the time to acknowledge it.

WATCH:

“[T]he party should not call Trump Hitler, should not say he’s a fascist. One, it’s bad politics. Two, it’s just not true. Right? It is simply not the case,” Turrentine said. “And I think that whenever a bad thing happens, parties need to call out in real time, ‘This is not acceptable.’ And I wish that one of our 2028-ers would come out and be more explicit.”

The former Democratic strategist praised independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders for doing “a great job” in his video on the assassination, wherein he denounced political violence. However, Turrentine argued his party needs to go further.

“[T]he next step is some of these leaders: ‘I am wrong or was wrong … we all need to lower the temperature. And I’m going to do my part by saying we got to knock this crap off.’ Win in the marketplace of ideas, win at the ballot box,” Turrentine said. “But don’t say we have to destroy the other side and stop it because it’s Hitler, because I agree with [House Speaker Mike Johnson]. Crazy people hear that and think, ‘I have to do my part.’”

Crockett on “The Breakfast Club” Friday justified calling Trump a “wannabe Hitler” by attacking the president’s rhetoric and claiming hers was “not necessarily” inciting violence.

“Me disagreeing with you, me calling you a wannabe Hitler, all those things are like not necessarily saying ‘Go out and hurt somebody,’” Crockett said.

Trump survived two assassination attempts during his 2024 presidential campaign, one during a July 13, 2024, rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, the other on Sept. 15, 2024, while he was playing a round of golf in Florida.

Kirk was assassinated on Wednesday while speaking to a large crowd at Utah Valley University (UVU), during which he engaged in civil debate with students. Republican Utah Gov. Spencer Cox asserted at a Friday press conference that authorities discovered anti-fascist messages on the ammunition from the rifle they recovered near the assassination, including “Hey fascist! Catch!”

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