Comedian Josh Johnson made an unusual comment suggesting that President Donald Trump should provide free health insurance to prevent assassination attempts against him. He mentioned, “You can take so much away from a person before you run out of options.” during an appearance on Daily Show.
“I think nonviolence is almost viewed through a psychological lens nowadays,” Johnson reflected. “There’s a limit to how much you can strip away from someone before they start crying out in desperation, you know? Things like riots.”
“Or before we pinpoint specific people seen as responsible for all the struggles faced in people’s lives,” he added.
He then touched on the idea that people become ill through no fault of their own, often facing astronomical bills that they simply can’t pay, leading to financial ruin. “It’s overwhelming,” Johnson voiced, “and then they find themselves caught up in a never-ending cycle with insurance companies, who seem to be dodging them at every turn. It’s like they’re stuck in a paperwork maze until, tragically, they just… pass away. And yet, that somehow isn’t defined as violence.”
Johnson remarked, “In the end, people don’t see this as violence, just as part of doing business. So, when there’s pushback against it, we’re inclined to label it differently.”
“It’s ironic, really. When folks express nonviolence publicly, there are definitely some who take advantage of it. It’s as if they’re saying, ‘Nothing’s going to change,’ and I think that’s dangerous,” he explained.
“The future looks grim for those who take the nonviolent approach for granted. Sure, you might feel anger towards someone, but the thought of actually harming them? That’s a whole different story,” Johnson noted.
In talking about the recent White House Correspondents’ Dinner, he pointedly remarked, “If you’re anything like Trump, you might have considered this from various angles before.”
“If I were in Trump’s position, I’d probably suggest, ‘Hey, how about free school lunches? No one can really oppose that, right?’ It feels like a strategic move, but it seems like there’s just too much greed to allow it,” he commented.
“There’s no instinct for self-preservation. You’d think they could at least say, ‘Hey, why not provide free health care?’ But that doesn’t happen,” he continued.
In response to a podcast host who bizarrely likened it to being forced at gunpoint to do the right thing, Johnson replied, “That’s where I’ve seen parallels with those who practice nonviolence—I think the government should feel a sense of fear when it comes to the populace.”
“It ought to be intimidating for politicians to pull off what’s currently happening,” he concluded.
