President Trump is “partially to blame” for the hostile, polarized environment that led to Wednesday’s shooting during a baseball practice being held by congressional Republicans, Rep. Mark Sanford, R-S.C., said on Thursday.
“I would argue the president has unleashed, partially, again not in any way totally, but partially to blame for demons that have been unleashed,” Sanford said in an interview on MSNBC.
“The fact is you’ve got the top guy saying ‘Well I wish I could hit you in the face and if not, why don’t you and I’ll pay your legal fees,’ that’s bizarre. We ought to call it as such,” he continued, paraphrasing remarks Trump made at a campaign rally last year.
Sanford said he’s witnessed voters at townhalls, including one held at a senior center, hurling insults at each other and will often ask, “What is going on?
“They’ll say, ‘If the guy at the top can say anything to anybody at any time, why can’t I?'” Sanford said. “I think we all need to look for ways to learn from what happened yesterday.”
The South Carolina Republican said Congress is at an “inflection point” and needs to be aware of the “forces at play” that could leave society in a “very bad spot.”
“There is some heavy soul-searching going on right now because it was so dramatic and because it was so out of the ordinary and because people realized were it not for those two Capitol Hill police, it would’ve been a bloodbath,” Sanford said.
A gunman opened fire Wednesday morning on Republicans who were practicing in Alexandria, Va., for Thursday’s annual congressional baseball game.
Six people were injured, including Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., who remains in critical condition after several surgeries.
