Kathy Griffin made headlines in the media on Tuesday, after publishing a graphic image holding a fake, bloodied head in replication of Donald Trump. The advocacy of violence, in a time where diplomacy is already tense, was universally condemned by conservatives and liberals alike. As a result, Griffin’s long-time job at CNN, as well as an endorsement deal and scheduled appearance, were quickly terminated despite a nearly immediate apology from the comedienne. Within the media and general public, nearly everyone has acknowledged that Griffin had crossed the line one too many times.
Still, while advocating that gory violence to make a political statement is never justifiable, the strong opposition against Griffin’s photo choice by the Trump administration and fellow conservatives raises questions about double standards.
Ted Nugent, American musician and high-profile conservative political activist, has directed hateful dialect towards Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton over the course of the past several years. Referencing Obama’s campaign back in 2012, he made the threatening statement: “We need to ride into that battlefield and chop their heads off in November. … If Barack Obama becomes the next president in November, again, I will either be dead or in jail by this time next year.”
That statement generated minimal outcry in conservative circles. But still, Nugent was not finished. Along with a multitude of vile comments directed towards Democratic leaders, specifically Obama, while holding machine guns on-stage along with rants at NRA conferences, Nugent also published a post on Facebook that suggested both Obama and Clinton be lynched for their actions in response to the terrorism in Benghazi.
The threat was taken seriously enough for the Secret Service to take notice, though, as was the case with Griffin, they quickly concluded there was no real threat.
At the time, Trump defended Nugent, dismissively saying the rocker was obviously only using a figure of speech.
Ted Nugent was obviously using a figure of speech, unfortunate as it was. It just shows the anger people have towards @BarackObama.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 19, 2012
Coincidentally, conservative media happened to remain silent about Nugent’s violent ideology, despite the connection in the themes that they fixated on in response to Kathy Griffin’s video.
The double standards do not just end there.
Kathy Griffin should be ashamed of herself. My children, especially my 11 year old son, Barron, are having a hard time with this. Sick!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 31, 2017
Trump, however, went even further in his condoning Nugent’s threats by inviting him to the White House along with fellow conservative musician Kid Rock and Sarah Palin back in April.
While the hateful imagery and implied threats by both Griffin and Nugent were both wrong, it is equally obvious that, when it comes to righteous indignation, the reactions on display by both conservatives and Trump set a new standard in hypocrisy.
