Keith Olbermann has sparked outrage by saying “there’s always the hope” that former President Donald Trump will be treated worse than Abraham Lincoln, who was assassinated.
The former MSNBC host was reacting on X to a video clip reposted by President Biden’s campaign HQ in which the presumptive Republican presidential nominee said Lincoln and Andrew Jackson were treated the worst in their lifetimes — while complaining that “nobody comes close to Trump.”
“Trump says he has been treated worse than Abraham Lincoln, who was assassinated,” the Biden campaign account archly pointed out.
Olbermann responded: “There’s always the hope.”
The menacing quip from the left-wing political commenter and former sportscaster drew fire from many users.
“Nothing to see here… Just Keith Olbermann openly wishing d*ath upon Trump,” Libs of TikTok wrote.
Many argued that Olbermann should be booted from X for potentially violating the platform’s terms of service, with some tagging owner Elon Musk.
“This account should be permanently suspended,” one critic with 83,000 followers fumed.
Podcaster Dr. Joseph Ford Cotto wrote: “Do you think Keith Olbermann cares that he has basically become a social media clown?”
“At the rate you’re going, you will end up getting a visit from the authorities,” user Viva Frei, who has 590,000 followers, posted.
Olbermann appears to have deleted the message on his X account, which has more than 984,000 followers. He responded to the backlash by saying his “hope” was about Trump being treated badly.
“I’m hoping Trump’s right, that he IS treated worse than Lincoln. As I’ve said for 9 years: THAT HE’S CONVICTED, THEN DIES IN PRISON,” he wrote.