Just like how some view Trump as dog-whistling support for the riots, even though semantically he's supporting their right to protest a fair election. Carlson views reallocating funding for the police to social services as dog whistling support for violent crimes.

160 years ago, Lincoln and Douglas were able to hold civil debates about slavery, which gave Lincoln the popularity he needed to win the presidency. I'm not sure how public discourse has decayed so significantly when we're more educated than ever.