Collingswood, NJ – Chris Emrich a Collingswood County Democrat Committeeman on Wednesday called for the assassination of President Donald J. Trump on Twitter. Emrich’s Twitter account has since been shut down, but it is unclear if it was voluntary or forced.
Now, despite calls for his resignation for his comments, Emrich refuses.
In a comment on Twitter about the “Lincoln Project”, Emrich said what America needs right now is a “John Wilkes Booth Project” referring to the man who assassinated President Abraham Lincoln. By saying America needs a John Wilkes Booth project, Emrich is clearly referring to the assassination of Trump. Emrich surely wasn’t calling for a moment of stage acting, as Booth is lesser-known as a stage actor during the mid-nineteenth century.
Emrich said he was just kidding, engaging in some Twitter-style locker room talk, and didn’t really want the President dead.
“Like a lot of people, I’ve been stressed out following the election and I made a stupid joke. I’m going to own it,” Emrich told NJ.com. “I made a dumb joke on Twitter. I’m embarrassed. It’s something I’m not proud of.”
Now, even his fellow Democrats are calling for his resignation. Despite public outcry within his party, New Jersey Governor Murphy has not called for Emrich’s resignation.
“While we do not support President Trump or his disastrous administration, the idea that someone would apparently threaten the life of a sitting President, regardless of party, is unconscionable, dangerous, and antithetical to our democratic values,” said Democrat New Jersey State Senator James Beach. “The disgraceful and dangerous tweet from Chris Emrich below in which he apparently calls for the assassination of Donald Trump exemplifies the dire state of American affairs and has no place in our Democratic Committee.”
“Governor Murphy is the head of the Democratic Party in New Jersey, so when one of his acolytes calls for the assassination of a sitting President, he has a moral, ethical and professional responsibility to speak out against it,” said Doug Steinhardt, chairman of the New Jersey GOP. “His failure to do so thus far is shameful, unbecoming of his office, and an obvious sign that he’s been taken captive by the most radical elements of his party. These far-left groups in the Democratic party are clearly driving his policy agenda, and now anti-Trump fanaticism has overcome basic civic decorum. I can’t believe it’s come to this, but New Jersey deserves a Governor who will condemn calls for the assassination of the sitting President of the United States.”