POLL OF THE DAY: Is it wrong to make jokes about political violence? YOUR VERDICT

Just days before the attack on the former US President, one BBC presenter called for Trump to be “murdered” after a Supreme Court judgement on presidential immunity.

Posting on social media, David Aaronovitch said: “If I was Biden I'd hurry up and have Trump murdered on the basis that he is a threat to America's security.”

However, jokes about political violence have also been rife in the UK, with those who make them passionate about expressing their freedom of speech and the context in which they are made.

Speaking on GB News on Sunday, Nigel Farage took aim at British comedian Jo Brand, who joked “battery acid” should be thrown on the Clacton MP, accusing her of advocating for political violence.

“I’m afraid the narrative that is put out there about Donald Trump is just so dangerous and damaging”, Farage said.

“We’ve seen it in British politics. There are extremists/terrorists on either end of the spectrum.

“What we’ve seen through mainstream media and social media are millions of people turning towards hatred.

“I have to tell you, we are not that far behind in this country.”

Speaking about his personal experiences with being confronted by baying members of the public, Farage recalled a recent moment that hadn’t been publicised.

“The last time someone threw a drink at me was last Wednesday”, he said.

“Sometimes you see it in full view, normally I don’t talk about it. It’s amazing. When in the European elections in 2019 and someone threw a milkshake in my face, Jo Brand said ‘why waste your time on that? Better using battery acid’, and she is still appearing on the BBC.

“We had David Aaronovitch who said the Democrats should get Trump shot.

“He is still working for the Times and the BBC. There is too much of this. It’s acceptable to say violent things about right-wing people.

“If I said something about someone within the Labour Party anyway near that, I would be out of the House of Commons within 24 hours.

“We need a proper rethink. Yes, there are bad things said on both sides. But the role of mainstream media has a lot to do with this.”

At the time, the BBC defended Brand’s remark, saying: “Heresy [Brand’s radio show]is a long-running comedy programme where, as the title implies and as our listeners know, panellists often say things which are deliberately provocative but are not intended to be taken seriously.”

Social media users have also jumped to Aaronovitch’s defence, with one user writing: “I have had many disagreements with Aaronovitch but people shouldn't imply that his tweet was any sort of incitement.

“It was a bad joke relating to the recent Supreme Court judgment on presidential immunity. Nothing more.”

Another said: “Obviously Aaronovitch was joking.

“And obviously it was pretty tasteless at the time. But ‘chortle chortle’ etc.. Lefties are allowed etc. etc.

“Right now? He should apologise profusely and acknowledge that it was a serious mistake.”

Mail on Sunday commentator Dan Hodges, wrote: “We need a war on political violence. Not humour or analogy or irony or robust discourse. Whatever motivated the Trump shooter, it wasn’t a tweet by David Aaronovitch.”

In a statement on Monday, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “Political violence, intimidation and harassment have no place in our democracy.

“The recent General Election campaign demonstrated some of the great strengths of our democratic traditions, including a smooth and peaceful transition of power from one party to another, but during this campaign, we also saw an alarming rise in intimidation, harassment and abuse towards candidates, campaigners and volunteers from all parties which simply cannot be tolerated.

“Some of those incidents are now being investigated by police.

“The disgraceful scenes we saw in some areas during this election campaign must not be repeated.”

89 per cent of GB News members agreed that it's wrong to make jokes about political violence.

On the other hand, 10 per cent believe it isn't wrong, while one per cent are unsure.