If a poem communicating a specific message withstands the test of time—surviving nearly four centuries—the message conveyed is definitely worth noting. Such is the case of “For Want of a Nail”—a favorite of Benjamin Franklin’s that he helped popularize in the 18th century. Its message is of great importance today in the aftermath of the third assassination attempt against President Donald Trump on April 25.
Originating in 1629, the poem’s message required but six lines:
For want of a nail, the shoe was lost;
For want of a shoe, the horse was lost;
For want of a horse, the rider was lost;
For want of a rider, the battle was lost;
For want of a battle, the kingdom was lost,
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.
In this rondelet, the simple lack of a horseshoe nail resulted in a riderless horse unable to carry a warrior into a battle—a battle in need of being fought to save a kingdom. Further simplifying the message is the failure to tackle little things early on can lead to much bigger problems later.
In the days prior to the third failed presidential assassination attempt and even in the days following, unhinged anti-Trump voices continued to stir up animosity against the president, with the comments being consumed by minds mentally incapable of discerning the difference between political puffery and reality.
Calls by liberal Democrats for violent confrontations against Trump and his supporters had been ongoing for years, going back to 2017, most memorably led by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif). While some Democrats feigned civility, their stopgap effort was only temporary as nine years later a new senior House member actually became a cheerleader for the anti-Trump rhetoric.
That leading Democrat in the House—House Minority leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)—just before the latest assassination effort, made the confrontational call demanding Democrats implement “maximum warfare, everywhere, all the time” against Republicans. Undoubtedly, such a “no holds barred” invitation to the likes of the most recent wannabe assassin, Cole Allen, was music to his ears.
A recent indictment against former FBI Director James Comey reveals how brazen the calls for violence against Trump have been. He was charged with making a threat against the president by circulating a photo consisting of seashells he allegedly found on the beach to that spelled out “86 47”—code meaning “to get rid” of President No. 47.
Critics say the prosecution will be challenged to prove Comey’s intent. However, the fact he had just published a novel about “stochastic terrorism” involving a public figure who used coded messaging to incite followers to commit acts of violence is most telling about his intent. Rationally, such a threat being communicated by a high level official could easily convince a madman of the brink of his righteousness in so acting.
Additionally, days before the assassination attempt, progressive streamer Hasan Piker made comments that were most encouraging to any nutcase listening to the New York Times podcast interview he was giving.
On the podcast, Piker was asked a question by Opinion culture editor Nadja Spiegelman, which made a frightening revelation of its own. Turning to the public execution of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson on December 4, 2024 by Luigi Mangione in midtown Manhattan, Spiegelman queried:
I think 41 percent of Gen Z-ers felt that murder was morally justified. But it’s scary to be in a society where people feel that murder is morally justified. And I’m curious how we thread that line?
Ironically, the reality of this revelation by Spiegelman was demonstrated by a post made by one United Healthcare worker who left a comment sympathetic to Trump’s failed assassin reading, “aww, they missed.” That an employee of a company that had suffered a tragic assassination only 16 months earlier was capable of such a callous comment is unconscionable.
But Piker’s response to Spiegelman’s question was even more outrageous as it defended the killer:
Friedrich Engels wrote about the concept of social murder. And Brian Thompson, as the United Healthcare C.E.O., was engaging in a tremendous amount of social murder.
Not only did Piker justify a past murder, a week earlier, during a livestream, he had unbelievably encouraged a future one by calling for Senator Rick Scott’s (R-Fl) demise saying: “If you cared about Medicare fraud or Medicaid fraud, you would kill Rick Scott.”
Early in the history of live television, just the use of profanity was found disturbing enough that steps were taken to prevent it from being heard on programs, leading to the practice of bleeping. Today, such bleeping continues for live television programming to protect us from the lesser evil of hearing profanity yet, inexplicably, our culture allows us to hear the greater evil of calls for murder by podcast streamers.
A statement made by the co-founder of the moderate conservative but anti-Trump political action committee Lincoln Project after the third assassination attempt made no effort to tone things down. He blamed Trump for the shooting, and accused him of “poison[ing]” rhetoric in America, adding “he is a vile and disgusting man.”
On May 1, just a week after the attempt—and while we do not yet have all the details—a man was arrested for triggering a magnetometer at Trump National Doral Golf Resort in Miami, Florida. Was it an accidental alarm or another indication of derangement gone mad? Clearly, the failure of sane people to act sanely only encourages the insanity to continue.
It needs to be recognized that wannabe assassins are either on the edge of mental illness or already there, fantasizing about performing acts of violence. All that they need is a greenlight of encouragement to act upon their fantasy. Unfortunately, there has been no shortage in providing them with such greenlights.
As forewarned in the above poem, we are in danger of losing our “kingdom”—i.e., an America in which one can safely engage in public discourse on issues without the fear that the last sound heard will be an assassin’s gun. The “nail” is the failure by all—politicians and non-politicians alike—to recognize the cause and effect of breaching public civility. The name-calling and making of outrageous claims known to be untrue, such as suggesting an opponent is a Nazi, just to capture a headline moment does nothing to contribute to the public debate and everything to ignore public civility in favor of a more confrontational approach.
In the days of the Roman Empire and gladiator combat, Colosseum crowds would spur the fighters on. When one gladiator got another at a disadvantage, he would look up to the emperor for a signal whether to spare or take the latter’s life—a decision rendered by the leader rendering a simple thumbs up or down. We are living in a time when inciteful comments issued in print and social media or on the airwaves by political leaders become—to a mentally deranged presidential wannabe assassin—the perceived call of the emperor to execute the opponent.
James Zumwalt is a retired Marine infantry officer who served in the Vietnam War, Panama and Operation Desert Storm. He is the author of three books and hundreds of opinion pieces in online and print publications. He speaks frequently on foreign policy and defense issues as well as on the leadership of his famous father, after whom the world’s first stealth destroyer is named.
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