By Terry Manning
Somebody might want to check actor John Schneider for chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
Even though the disease CTE is typically associated with professional football players who endure head injuries throughout their careers, I have to wonder if the former “Dukes of Hazzard” television star might’ve taken one too many bumps when he and his castmates were jumping creeks in the General Lee.
Last week this guy had the nerve to post on social media platform X (formally known as Twitter): “Mr. President, I believe you are guilty of treason and should be publicly hung [sic]. Your son too. Your response is..? Sincerely, John Schneider.”
(Insert Waylon Jennings voiceover: There’s trouble and then there’s trouble, and the trouble with some trouble is at first it don’t look like trouble.)
President Biden didn’t respond, but guess who did: The Secret Service. And who couldn’t have seen that coming? You can’t threaten the president! There is a law saying that, and any reasonable person would think that calling for a public hanging of the president would fall under the umbrella of making a threat.
Schneider said he made no such threat, telling Deadline, “It’s my position, which I am entitled to have, that some of our nations [sic.] leaders in Washington have lost their way, and corruption runs rampant, both on our nation’s borders and abroad. … I absolutely did not call for an act of violence or threaten a U.S. president as many other celebrities have done in the past. I suggest you re-read my actual post and pay attention to the words before believing this nonsense.”
So let’s look at what Schneider said.
He said believes the president is guilty of treason (a crime punishable by death) and should be hung alongside his son, Hunter Biden, in a public manner. He then alludes to threats by other celebrities (perhaps comedian Kathy Griffin’s infamous photo of herself with a mask of then-President Donald Trump covered in fake blood?) as if that might give him cover.
At the very least he should have thought about what happened to Griffin’s career after her 2017 stunt. Trump himself tweeted, “Kathy Griffin should be ashamed of herself. My children, especially my 11-year-old son Barron, are having a hard time with this. Sick!”
(Insert Waylon Jennings voiceover: That little lady needs a good spanking.)
She posted an apology video saying, “I am a comic. I crossed the line. I moved the line, then I crossed it. I went way too far.” But it was too little, too late.
CBS News reported in 2019 that Griffin had a comedy tour canceled, lost endorsement deals, was put on the federal no-fly list, and was fired from a job co-hosting CNN’s New Year’s Eve coverage with longtime friend Anderson Cooper. She received death threats and was investigated by the Secret Service and the Department of Justice.
She told CBS News, “To be honest, he broke me.”
People like Schneider who play the “what about” game never follow through on what they view as exonerating comparisons. They compare their offense to others’, but don’t think they deserve comparable repercussions.
What did he say? “It’s my position, which I am entitled to have.” He’s right. Know who else said that? Kathy Griffin: “[I] didn’t violate the First Amendment, didn’t break the law.”
Still, she paid a price.
A lot of people think they can vent on social media without fear of consequences due to freedom of speech. How many times does it have to be said, that is not the case? Words matter.
Schneider deleted his post, but not before it went viral. Not before getting the attention of the Secret Service and who knows what other federal agencies. He’ll cry about how he’s being unfairly singled out, but he will be treated the same way you or I would be treated if we threatened the president.
Schneider likely won’t be hit as hard as Griffin, though. He’s got a nation of Trump supporters who will wrongly defend him. They will make sure he doesn’t get canceled for making what sounded like a threat worth scrutinizing.
Of him — and them — all I have to say is:
(Insert Waylon Jennings voiceover: Those boys sure do have a pitiful grasp on reality.)
Terry E. Manning is a Clemson graduate and worked for 20 years as a journalist. He can be reached at teemanning@gmail.com.
