Trump Campaign Claims “86” Pin On Whitmer’s Desk Means She Is “Encouraging Assassination Attempts”

New York Magazine reports:



During the governor’s remote appearance on Meet the Press, an anti-Trump “86 45” pin could be clearly seen on her desk in the background. “45” refers to Trump, and “86” is slang primarily used by restaurant workers to denote getting rid of something or it being out of stock — though the shorthand, which has no confirmed etymology, has become popular outside the service industry as well.

The Google-armed linguists at the Trump campaign, however, later claimed that “86” has a far more nefarious meaning. The campaign alleged in a Sunday afternoon tweet that “86 can be shorthand for killing someone,” so it therefore stands to reason that “Whitmer is encouraging assassination attempts against President Trump.” Desperate false equivalency posed as campaign savvy hardly justifies the risk of what could happen if more well-armed extremists take the allegation seriously.