Is it time for Democrats to “86” the violent rhetoric targeting Donald Trump?
Hours after news broke of political assassinations in Minnesota, New Hampshire First Congressional District candidate Maura Sullivan (D) posted a photo of herself with a sign reading “86 47,” a message some Republicans say is shorthand for “assassinate Donald Trump.”
Whatever Sullivan’s intentions, the post puts her in the middle of a debate over whether heated political rhetoric, particularly from Democrats and the ideological left, has led to the current rise in political violence.
The Minnesota story is particularly horrific — two state lawmakers and their spouses shot (two of them fatally) by a politically-motivated assassin. The incident inspired the New Hampshire Senate Majority and Minority Leaders to issue a rare joint statement calling for unity.
While political violence is not unheard of in the U.S., there was a significant upswing in 2024, according to Reuters. And the most high-profile examples are the two assassination attempts targeting Trump — one of which came within an ear’s width of success.
The anti-Trump rhetoric has hardly cooled since last year’s election. The Minnesota assassinations occurred on the same day as more than 2,000 anti-Trump “No King” rallies organized by progressive groups across the country. The message of the rallies was that Trump is a would-be dictator and a danger.
Sullivan spoke at the Portsmouth “No Kings” event, where she took a few minutes to pose for a photo with a fellow protester. His sign read “Veterans for Democracy,” a good fit for Marine veteran Sullivan, who served in the Obama administration’s Department of Veterans Affairs.
However, the sign also featured the phrase “Foxtrot Delta Tango,” along with the message “86 47.”
The former is NATO phonetic alphabet for “FDT” (“DT” stands for Donald Trump. The “F” is self-explanatory at anti-Trump rallies.)
The “86 47” meme is a combination of restaurant jargon (“86” means to take something off the menu or to get rid of it) and Trump’s status as the 47th president. There are also reports that “86” has been adopted in criminal circles as shorthand for “kill.”
Sullivan’s decision to post the photo sparked an immediate backlash, even from some Democrats.
“Tone deaf in this sad climate where good people who selflessly serve in government are literally being shot in Minnesota,” Concord attorney and Democratic activist Jay Surdokowski posted in response. “Love or hate the president, threatening to ‘86’ him is not who we are in the Granite State.”
The phrase is problematic enough that when former FBI Director James Comey posted an image of seashells arranged in the “86 47” meme on his social media, the Secret Service opened an investigation. (It is still ongoing.) Comey took the image down and apologized.
Sullivan, on the other hand, has done neither, even as Republicans called her out over the post.
“I knew Maura was cozying up with the extreme radical left, but this is a step too far. Calls for political violence like this have no place in New Hampshire,” said New Hampshire GOP chair Jim MacEachern.
Manchester Alderman and potential First District GOP candidate Joe Kelly Levasseur said Sullivan is playing politics.
“Anything for attention, eh, Maura? And imagine the outrage from the always-outraged media if this was a sign about Kamala (Harris) held by a Republican.”
Asked about her post and the controversy, Sullivan’s spokesman Nick London sent NHJournal a statement.
“Maura is outraged and heartbroken about the assassination of a public servant in Minnesota. She believes that there is absolutely no place for violence in our politics, regardless of party or affiliation. Yesterday, Maura joined thousands of Granite Staters and millions of Americans in peacefully protesting Donald Trump’s use of our servicemembers as props for his political agenda. If the president cared about our veterans, he would be focused on improving healthcare at the VA, expanding mental health services, and supporting our military families.”
The National Republican Congressional Committee was unimpressed by Sullivan’s response.
“Political violence has no place in our country – and posing with propaganda calling for the assassination of President Trump is dangerous and disqualifying,” said NRCC spokeswoman Maureen O’Toole. “Maura Sullivan must apologize, take down the photo, and take herself out of the running for New Hampshire’s First Congressional District.”
Sullivan’s “86 47” message may be provocative, but is it bad politics? Polls show more Democrats, particularly younger ones, are willing to accept the idea that violence may be necessary in the name of politics. A recent study from Rutgers University found that 38 percent of respondents, and 55 percent of those with left-of-center politics, said assassinating President Trump would be at least somewhat justified. And some 40 percent of respondents, and 58 percent of those left of center, said the same about destroying a Tesla dealership in the name of political protest.
Also on Saturday, a Manchester, N.H woman was arrested in upstate New York during a “No Kings” protest. During an argument with a Trump supporter, she “struck the man in the head with a piece of wood molding,” according to reports.
U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) was in New Hampshire Saturday morning when the horrific news from her home state hit, and she promptly flew back to Minneapolis.
“People need to call people out,” Klobuchar told CNN’s Dana Bash in a Sunday morning interview. “Some people need to look in the mirror and say, ‘Hey, I’ve got to stop this or stop my colleagues from doing this because it makes it much worse.’ We need to bring the tone down, and we also need to stand up when people do bad things.”
