Clinton: Trump Caused Leftist Violence Against His Supporters

The Democratic presidential candidate is one of several people blaming Trump for anti-Trump protester violence.

By Dustin Siggins Published on June 6, 2016

Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is suggesting Donald Trump is to blame for liberals attacking his supporters.

In recent days one Trump supporter was cornered and egged, while at least two others were struck by anti-Trump protesters, one of them bloodied.

“I condemn all violence in our political arena,” Clinton told CNN’s Jake Tapper. “I condemned it when Donald Trump was inciting it and congratulating people who were engaging it. I condemn it by those who are taking violent protests to physical assault against Donald Trump. This has to end. He set a very bad example.”

“He created an environment in which it seemed to be acceptable for someone running for president to be inciting violence, to be encouraging his supporters. Now we’re seeing people who are against him responding in kind,” she continued. “It should all stop. It is not acceptable.”

New York Times columnist David Brooks sounded a similar theme. He conceded that  “the victims” of the recent violence “were the Trump supporters,” but added, “It’s a group of people who like violence. They tend to be young men. And Trump happens to generate this sort of excitement that gives them a pretext.”

Comedian Jimmy Dore suggested Trump could be paying plants to commit the attacks. “I would not put anything past Donald Trump,” he said. He described one Trump event he attended “the hate rally,” saying it started with three Hispanic women whose kids were killed by illegal immigrants. “They were crying,” Dore said, mocking the parents.

His fellow liberal and panel colleague, Cenk Uygur, refused to play the blame-Trump game, however. “The Young Turks” talk show host instead urged the anti-Trump protesters, “Don’t do that, man.” By attacking Trump backers, “you’re giving them the high  moral ground. And it is the wrong thing to do, it is not just about losing the moral high ground. Don’t do it, it is wrong, it is hideous.”

National Review writer Noah Daponte-Smith went a step further, insisting more broadly that “political violence has arisen not from the right, but from the left.” He explained:

Progressives are already predisposed to violence against Trump supporters as a consequence of the mindset wherein political rights are only accorded to those who ascribe to a slate of largely liberal viewpoints. Add to that the belief that your opponent is a fascist intent only on the usurpation of personal power and the destruction of the democratic system, and you get a toxic mix, one that makes the leap to justifying violence a short one indeed.

He noted that this is particularly the case with their treatment of Trump. “As the socialist provocateur Fredrik deBoer, no friend of liberal pundits, wrote on Twitter: ‘Journalists with big platforms called Trump a literal fascist on the rise for months. How did you expect people to react to that?’” he continued. “If pundits are to use it to describe Trump and his movement, they must be prepared to live with the consequences.”

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