MAGA Republicans stooped to new lows this week with their extremism, hypocrisy, chaos, and — as President Biden would call it — malarkey. In case you missed it: Donald Trump said that former Congresswoman Liz Cheney should have to face a firing squad while Vance defended Trump’s attacks on the “enemy from within”; Trump tried to cover for his long-running plan to “terminate” the Affordable Care Act … while Mike Johnson confirmed the Trump-Vance ticket’s Project 2025 agenda would gut these critical protections for millions of Americans with pre-existing conditions; Trump said that his rally, where a speaker called Puerto Rico “an island of garbage,” was a “lovefest”; and Trump – who ended Roe v. Wade – promised to be women’s protector “whether the women like it or not.”

The Trump-Vance ticket doubled down on their dangerous, violent rhetoric — Donald Trump said that former Congresswoman Liz Cheney should have “nine barrels shooting at her” and guns “trained on her face”…

CNN: “Trump says ‘war hawk’ Liz Cheney should be fired upon in escalation of violent rhetoric against his opponents”

“Donald Trump said former Rep. Liz Cheney is a ‘war hawk’ who should be fired upon, as he raged against one of his most prominent intra-party critics while campaigning Thursday night in Arizona.

“‘She’s a radical war hawk. Let’s put her with a rifle standing there with nine barrels shooting at her, OK?’ the former president said at a campaign event in Glendale with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. ‘Let’s see how she feels about it, you know, when the guns are trained on her face.’” […]

“Trump’s suggestion that Cheney should face gunfire represents an escalation of the violent language he has used to target his political foes. And it comes days before an election in which the former president — who never accepted his 2020 loss — has already undermined public confidence. In recent weeks, he has also suggested a military crackdown on political opponents he has described as ‘the enemy within.’”

The Hill: “Liz Cheney says Trump comments were akin to death threat”

“‘This is how dictators destroy free nations,’ Cheney, who has been a vocal critic of the former president, said Friday in a post on the social platform X. ‘They threaten those who speak against them with death.’

“‘We cannot entrust our country and our freedom to a petty, vindictive, cruel, unstable man who wants to be a tyrant,’ she added.”

… while JD Vance desperately defended Trump’s threats against American citizens as the “enemy from within.”

Kristen Welker, NBC: “Donald Trump recently called his domestic political opponents, quote, ‘the enemy from within,’ and said they are more dangerous than Russia and China. Do you believe that people like Adam Schiff and Nancy Pelosi are more dangerous than Russia and China?”

Vance: “Well, I think what Donald Trump said is that those folks pose a greater threat to the United States’ peace and security, because America is strong enough to stand up to any foreign adversary.”

Welker: “Do you agree with him, they pose a larger threat to the United States than Russia and China?”

Vance: “What he said, and I do agree with this, what he said, is that the biggest threat we have in our country, it’s not a foreign adversary, because we can handle these guys.”

Trump tried to cover for his long-running plan to “terminate” the Affordable Care Act if reelected … 

Sahil Kapur, NBC News: “Trump quickly responds to Harris, saying he ‘never even thought about’ ending the ACA.

“(As president, Trump fought to repeal ACA via legislation, undo regulations via executive action and nuke it via SCOTUS. Last month he called ACA ‘lousy’ and said ‘we’re going to replace it.’)”

… and Mike Johnson said out loud what the Trump-Vance ticket has been planning all along: “massive” new attacks on the Affordable Care Act and “no” protections for millions of Americans with pre-existing conditions.

NBC News: “House Speaker Mike Johnson took a dig at Obamacare during an event in Pennsylvania on Monday, telling a crowd there will be ‘massive’ health care changes in America if Donald Trump wins the election.” […]

“‘No Obamacare?’ one attendee asked Johnson, referring to the law Democrats passed in 2010, also known as the Affordable Care Act.

“‘No Obamacare,’ Johnson responded, rolling his eyes. ‘The ACA is so deeply ingrained, we need massive reform to make this work and we got a lot of ideas on how to do that.’”

Trump: “The problem with Obamacare, it’s not good. We’d like to terminate it.” 

[…]

Savannah Guthrie, NBC News: “In point of fact, your administration is about to go to the Supreme Court to argue to throw out the rest of Obamacare, which includes the protections for preexisting conditions.”

Trump: “That’s right. That’s right.”

Guthrie: “So your administration is in court right now, trying to get rid of that protection.”

[…]

Trump: “Look, look. We should be on the same side. I want it very simple. I’m going to put it very simple. We would like to terminate it.”

Trump said that his MAGA rally at Madison Square Garden — where a speaker called Puerto Rico “an island of garbage” — was a “lovefest.”

BBC: “Donald Trump has said his rally in New York City on Sunday was an ‘absolute lovefest,’ ignoring bipartisan calls that he personally apologise after a comedian’s joke at the event caused widespread offence.

“Some members of the Puerto Rican diaspora in the US have expressed outrage at Tony Hinchliffe’s routine. A number of prominent Puerto Ricans – including Trump allies – have urged the Republican candidate to publicly disavow the joke.

“Among them was Angel Cintron, president of Puerto Rico’s Republican Party, who was quoted by the Associated Press news agency as saying it was ‘disgraceful, ignorant and totally reprehensible.’”

Trump – who appointed the justices that overturned Roe v. Wade – promised to be women’s protector “whether the women like it or not.”

New York Times: “Trump Says He’ll Protect Women, ‘Like It or Not,’ Evoking His History of Misogyny”

“Former President Donald J. Trump said at a rally on Wednesday that he would protect American women ‘whether the women like it or not’ — remarks that he cast as paternal but only served as reminders to many of his critics of his history of misogynistic statements and a civil court case that found him liable for sexual abuse.

“Speaking near Green Bay, Wis., Mr. Trump told the crowd that his advisers had urged him to stop using a well-worn rally line about his desire to protect women, saying they had called it ‘inappropriate.’ In recent months, Mr. Trump has boasted on social media and in his speeches that he would protect women in America by making their communities safer and by making sure they won’t ‘be thinking about abortion,’ as he faces increasing backlash for appointing three Supreme Court justices who helped overturn Roe v. Wade.

“On Wednesday, he delivered similar remarks but added a new twist as he described onstage what he had told his advisers: ‘I said, well, I’m going to do it whether the women like it or not. I am going to protect them.’”