Trump’s Act Is No Accident
By: Louise Conley
The assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk stunned the nation. It was more than a tragedy. It was a signal that something dark is growing in American life, something fed not only by politics but by performance.
For years, Donald Trump has blurred the line between the two. His rallies, his insults, his endless need for attention are not random outbursts. They are acts in a show that never ends. Trump does not lead like a politician. He performs like a celebrity who knows that the crowd’s energy is his power. Every taunt, every cheer, every moment of outrage keeps the spotlight exactly where he wants it.
People often mistake this for chaos, but there is nothing accidental about it. The more outrageous he becomes, the more coverage he gets. The more headlines he dominates, the more he controls the conversation. It is a loop that feeds itself. And in that loop, words start to lose their weight until something terrible happens and we remember they can move people to act.
The Brookings Institution warned about this very thing. Their research shows that hateful or inflammatory language from political leaders increases the likelihood of violence. It gives that violence direction. It makes it harder for law enforcement to respond and spreads fear through communities. When Trump spoke on January 6, 2021, he did not just rally a crowd. He helped move the line of what his supporters saw as acceptable.
A team of professors at Northwestern University found an even clearer connection. They tracked Trump’s tweets on that same day and compared them to what was happening outside the Capitol. Each time his tone turned sharper, the violence intensified. Their data showed that his words were not background noise. They were fuel.
After Charlie Kirk’s assassination, PBS reported on how extremist violence grows in climates like this. The researchers explained that when political figures keep using harsh, combative language, it changes what people see as normal. Threats and aggression stop feeling shocking. They start to feel like part of the game.
That is what makes Trump’s performance so dangerous. He turns politics into theater, and he knows exactly how to keep his audience engaged. He uses nicknames, conflict, and drama because he understands emotion better than policy. His followers repeat his lines. His critics amplify them. The entire country becomes part of the show.
Some say it is unfair to blame rhetoric for violence. They point out that most people who attend rallies or read political posts never hurt anyone. But that misses the point. Theater is not about logic. It is about emotion. A speech can plant ideas that linger. It can make people feel that fighting for their side, even violently, is righteous. When a leader tells his followers that the country is under attack, someone somewhere will believe that the call to defend it is literal.
The killing of Charlie Kirk is a painful example of how words ripple through a culture. The shooter alone made the choice to act, but the atmosphere that made that choice seem heroic did not appear from nowhere. Trump’s constant performance of grievance and revenge shapes how millions of people see politics. It makes anger feel patriotic. It turns opponents into enemies. It teaches that conflict is power.
This is not only an American story. Around the world, strongmen use theater to control what people believe and how they feel. The difference in the United States is scale. Our media spreads every Trump rally clip, every post, every soundbite in seconds. The line between audience and actor disappears, and ordinary people start performing their own parts in the drama.
Seeing Trump as a performer does not excuse him. It reveals the strategy. His act captures attention, divides audiences, and keeps outrage alive. Until we understand the spectacle itself, and how it rewards anger and fear, we will stay trapped in this theater where violence waits behind the curtain.
Trump’s act is no accident. It is deliberate, powerful, and dangerous. What begins as performance can end in bloodshed.