A top Senate Democrat testing the 2020 presidential campaign waters on Tuesday charged President Trump with inciting violence against journalists at his rallies and called on him to stop the violence.
The White House Correspondents’ Association echoed that call, tweeting “the president of the United States should make absolutely clear to his supporters that violence against reporters is unacceptable.”
Statement on attack on journalist at president’s rally. pic.twitter.com/cdyMl9C2NO
— WHCA (@whca) February 12, 2019
Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, in the middle of a campaign listening tour around the country, said that Trump needs to go on national TV to talk about the violence, like the lone assault of a TV cameraman at Monday night’s Trump rally in Texas.
The guy ran past me and it was very apparent in that moment he was about to attack someone https://t.co/gGlPoYKK15
— Anna Giaritelli (@Anna_Giaritelli) February 12, 2019
“It’s become too par for the course,” said Brown, who is married to a journalist.
“It’s important that the president at some point sooner or later goes on television, not just tweets, but goes on television and says that reporters and journalists are not enemies of the people and that in fact he should call of his supporters who are doing those kinds of things, call them out and ask them to stop,” said Brown at a journalist breakfast roundtable sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor.
“We all are concerned that there will be something worse happening at some time in the future,” he added.
Video after guy ambushed media section at Trump rally in El Paso… scary moment pic.twitter.com/Q4R957aYh1
— Anna Giaritelli (@Anna_Giaritelli) February 12, 2019
The Washington Examiner’s Anna Giaritelli witnessed the assault at the Trump rally and wrote about it here.
Brown also called out Trump for his claims that the media is the enemy. “They are not enemies of the people,” said Brown, who demanded of Trump, “stop the encouraging of violence at these rallies.”
