The conservative outlet The Daily Wire published an opinion column this week warning Republicans and independents against assuming that the most radical strands of the American left have been defeated or have moderated, arguing instead that they are “metastasizing” and waiting for the first opportunity to return to power.
The piece, titled “The Nightmare America Thinks It Escaped,” acknowledges that Democrats have long opposed President Trump but notes that frustration with him now extends to many Republicans and most independents. The author attributes part of that to the simple fact that Trump holds power and Republicans control both chambers of Congress — while insisting that the frustration is blinding voters to what the alternative would bring.
Central to the argument is the claim that the left “is not moderating” and “has not been excised,” but is instead “worse” than it was in 2024 and “getting ready to burst free at the first available opportunity with all of their insanity — and their violence.”
Bill Burr as a Bellwether
The column points to comedian Bill Burr as an indicator of the broader cultural left, criticizing him for remarks about UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s killing and for using “Free Luigi” as a recurring punchline. It quotes Burr questioning why corporate executives receive security in the wake of the shooting, arguing that his response to the murder was to celebrate the killer rather than examine corporate behavior — and that his next question was why CEOs need protection at all.
The piece also cites Burr’s comments about shoe manufacturers and cheaper leather, which he tied to corporate bonuses, again ending with the “Free Luigi” line. According to the column, Burr told Rolling Stone that America requires a “bloodbath,” and the author argues that Burr — along with figures like Hasan Piker — represents “a broad swath of the Left” rather than a fringe element.
“Luigi Mangione murdered a man in cold blood for the crime of being the head of a health insurance company,” the column states, arguing that Burr remains treated as “some sort of arbiter of truth” because “comedians are our great truth tellers in our dumb civilization.”
Polling Cited on Democratic Attitudes
To support the claim that radicalism is not a minority position within the Democratic Party, the column cites a poll it says was conducted this week by the Center for Strategic Politics and Liberal Currents. According to the piece, the survey found that if Democrats were told Trump had been assassinated while speaking at a rally, 32 percent would be happy and another 25 percent would feel neither positive nor negative.
The column further claims the same poll found that 59 percent of Democrats would be happy if a military coup removed the president from office, with another 13 percent indifferent. The Daily Wire piece does not link directly to the survey and presents the numbers as evidence that “their revolutionary insanity is taking over.”
A Massachusetts Bar and a Viral Story
The column also highlights a Boston Globe story that it says shattered the newspaper’s subscription records. The story, per the Daily Wire’s account, concerned a western Massachusetts lesbian bar that had required KN-95 masks since it opened and then relaxed the rule. The year, the column notes, is now 2026, and COVID was largely over by 2021.
According to the Daily Wire’s retelling of the Globe’s reporting, the relaxed policy triggered fierce backlash. One commenter allegedly wrote, “Just say you’re being complicit in a mass disabling event and get it over with.” Another reportedly posted, “People like you killed disabled people in the name of your own leisure and convenience.” A third comment, per the column, said, “I hope your venue gets firebombed for robbing my fellow immunocompromised people of their Saturday plans just to scrape extra revenue from ableist.”
Two days later, the bar posted an apology, but the column says the apology made things worse because the Instagram card lacked alternative text for the visually impaired, setting off a fresh round of accusations of ableism. The column claims one of the bar’s owners ultimately enrolled in clown school.
The author uses the episode to argue that this is “what the Democratic Party is” at its root — “Bill Burr saying that CEOs should not have security, but also should be shot on the streets” and “people at a lesbian bar ripping on each other for having a maskless night in 2026.”
Senate Hearing and a Warning
The column also references a Senate hearing on transgender athletes in sports, which it characterizes as being about “boys who want to play with girls,” and notes that nearly every Democrat boycotted it.
Responding to those who say Democrats have become “sane and rational again,” the author offers a blunt counter: “If Democrats take over, it will be crazier than ever.” The piece insists the party is not returning to the Bill Clinton era of 1996 and that “we are so far beyond that point that it makes your head spin.”
The column’s closing message is directed at Republicans and independents who may be discouraged by the Trump administration, telling them they don’t have to agree with most of what Trump has done — just understand “what’s on the other side of that door.” That, the author writes, is “deep and insane radicalism,” and if voters don’t turn out “in droves,” they will get it.
The Daily Wire piece is an opinion column rather than a straight news report, and its characterizations of polling, the Boston Globe story, and the broader left are the author’s own. It reflects a widely held concern among parts of the conservative base that the political left is preparing for a resurgence — and a warning that the 2024 election did not eliminate the movement’s more radical factions.
Source: www.dailywire.com — https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-nightmare-america-thinks-it-escaped