What was once activist language has entered official political rhetoric.

Over the past 18 months, two sitting members of Congress have issued public statements that essentially say: "If I die, it wasn't suicide."

The TimelineThe Timeline

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (September 2025) posted on X that she is "not suicidal" and urged the public to "find out" who might want to prevent certain information from becoming public. Multiple outlets covered the statement and its aftermath.

Rep. Thomas Massie (February 2026) declared he is not suicidal, his brakes work fine, he practices "good trigger discipline," and there are no deep pools of water on his property. Additional reporting placed his statement in broader context.

A New Political GenreA New Political Genre

This is the preemptive death disclaimer. A rhetorical strategy that didn't exist in mainstream congressional communication until recently.

Setting aside political alignment, this development reveals three possibilities about the current information environment:

1. These officials perceive a genuine threat (or want their audience to believe they do)
2. They're creating a political insurance policy—if anything happens, the official narrative is pre-contested
3. Institutional trust has eroded to the point where this messaging resonates with a significant audience

The SignalThe Signal

Regardless of which interpretation holds true, the underlying message is identical:

When federal elected officials publicly disclaim suicide and accidental death in advance, that's a flashing indicator about the state of institutional trust, and it's becoming normalized.