TRIGGERED: NY Times Columnist Ross Douthat Jokes About Assassination Attempt Ending Trump’s Campaign. [archive]

“Good news guys I’ve figured out how the Trump campaign ends,” Douthat tweeted last night.

The tweet links to a video clip from the 1983 movie The Dead Zone, which features a character played by Christopher Walken attempting to gun down a political figure played by Martin Sheen.

An archived version of the tweet (along with some early responses) is available here.

He later tweeted [archive], “A lot readers were offended by my Trump/”Dead Zone” joke from yesterday. I can see why, and I’ve deleted the tweet. Apologies.”

Reminder: Douthat is a pathetic dweeb [archive] who said that Trump is a “proto-fascist” for being a masculine patriot:

Trumpism . . . manifests at least seven of the hallmarks of fascism . . . They include: a cult of action, a celebration of aggressive masculinity, an intolerance of criticism, a fear of difference and outsiders, a pitch to the frustrations of the lower middle class, an intense nationalism and resentment at national humiliation, and a “popular elitism” that promises every citizen that they’re part of “the best people of the world.”

Does this sound like Trump? Well, yes, it rather does . . .

It seems fair to say that he’s closer to the “proto-fascist” zone on the political spectrum than either the average American conservative or his recent predecessors in right-wing populism.