Letters

I was not going to comment on the unfortunate murder of political influencer Charlie Kirk, but after reading this AP headline, I thought otherwise. The headline, “Trump’s Threat To Target ‘Radical Left’ After Kirk Killing Raises Fears He’s Trying To Silence Foes,” is chilling.

The Cato Institute — a libertarian think tank with the mission to undertake public policy discussion, with the principles of limited government, individual liberty and free markets as guideposts — has conducted a study of political violence. On September 11, 2025, Cato released its study of sources of political violence, “Politically Motivated Violence Is Rare in the United States.”

Their findings, regarding the purpose of this letter, are:

From 1975 to 2015, right-wing violence accounted for 391 murders; left-wing violence accounted for 65 murders. Examples abound for both murders and beatings.

You can read the Cato Institute report in all its nuanced findings here at cato.org.

Donald Trump is wrong to threaten one ill-defined faction in our society. What is “radical left”? In the 1930s, many thought FDR’s plans for security for the aged was radical left “socialism” and “enslavement of workers.” Today, many Americans regard Social Security as a matter of common sense.

The Cato Institute study specifically points out the motivations and groups behind political violence. Let’s start with their understanding of who is doing harm to whom in our country and work from there. That is what a president of all the people would do.

Mike Anthony

Westhampton

Anthony is a former chair of the Southampton Democratic Committee — Ed.