Fox News anchor Melissa Francis asked a White House spokesperson about whether President Trump’s rhetoric could have played a part in “fueling hatred.”
Francis was questioning Hogan Gidley, the principal deputy press secretary, about the two mass shootings that occurred over the weekend and left over 30 people dead. She was specifically asking if his language could have played a role the shooting.
“I have to say it is disgusting to watch so many on the left come before cameras within five hours of this tragedy and lie about this president and have pathetic comments about the state of this country and where this president stands,” he said. “The president stands with all these Americans who — who suffer through these tragedies and those who want to fix the problems we face. And these Democrats have played politics from the word ‘go’ and that is so sad.”
“You don’t think it plays any part in the hatred or the violence or any of the back-and-forth? You don’t think — the accusation is that the culture he foments at his rallies leads to this kind of violence. How do you respond to that?” Francis asked.
“That is absolutely ridiculous. We do not blame, nor do we even dream of blaming Elizabeth Warren for the shooter in Ohio who wanted to vote for her,” Gidley answered. “The supporter of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez who carried out a terrorist attack, trying to blow up a DHS ICE Facility, using her language of concentration camps.”
“We don’t blame Barack Obama for the deaths of Dallas police officers. That is ridiculous,” he continued. “We wouldn’t dream of doing it and you cannot apply that standard to us and ignored in the Democratic side.”
“Would it help if everyone were more careful with their language?” Francis asked, but Gidley didn’t answer the question.
