Netizens Criticize Trump for Allegedly Wanting to ‘Execute’ People on Multiple Occasions

Former U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr's recent remarks regarding Donald Trump's alleged threats to execute a White House leaker have caused a stir on social media. The comments, made during an interview with anchor Kaitlan Collins on Friday night, as reported by Newsweek, have raised alarm and concern. This isn't the first time such reports have surfaced about the former president; he previously hinted at supporting the death penalty for drug dealers. Now, internet users are criticizing the former president for his statements.

Acyn, a senior editor, posted a video on his X account and wrote, "Wow, according to this, it seems that Trump floated executing people on multiple occasions while President." One user wrote, "Words are actions, they do not pop up and float away.  Next time if the rage gets out of hand, some Trump enabler might say 'Yes, sir'." Another user wrote, "People can only talk sense into him if there are adults in the room who are willing to talk sense to him. If he surrounds himself with "yes" men and women--sycophants who generally do not push back against his worst ideas, there will be no one to talk sense into him."

A third user wrote, "Imagine what we’re watching oh my God, this man having held the position he held excusing a president who threatened to execute people by saying oh he was just blowing off steam—I HAVE NO WORDS." Another person stated, "It doesn’t surprise me at all. He has openly displayed his love for  dictators and how much he wants to be one." A fifth user wrote, "How is this, with all we know, a "wow"? I wouldn't be surprised if I learned that as a private citizen, he wanted people he didn't like murdered. I'm actually quite sure this has been the case since he was a teenager. We'll probably be seeing evidence of it any month now."

Adding to the complexity, Barr, the former attorney general for Trump, who previously likened voting for the indicted ex-president to playing Russian roulette with the country, has reaffirmed his choice to vote for Trump in November. Barr also suggested that Trump frequently entertained the notion of executing his political opponents while in office, as per Yahoo News. Alyssa Farah Griffin, a former White House communications director, once asserted that Barr was present in the summer of 2020 when Trump proposed that an unidentified White House leaker should be put to death.

Talking about this statement, Barr said, “I remember him being very mad about that. I actually don’t remember him saying ‘executing,’ but I wouldn‘t dispute it, you know… The president would lose his temper and say things like that. I doubt he would’ve actually carried it out." Barr added, “He would say things similar to that on occasions to blow off steam. But I wouldn’t take them literally every time he did it. Because at the end of the day, it wouldn’t be carried out and you could talk sense into him." Barr controversially also claimed that the real danger to Democracy lies with the Biden administration, contrasting with the indicted former president's involvement in the January 6 insurrection.