Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., claims she never called for violence against the Trump administration after she called on Americans to band together to force Trump officials out of retailers, like department stores.
“Trump is the one creating lies, tried to have people believe that I talked about harming people,” Waters told reporters Monday while addressing the criticism she’s faced for her comments. “There is nowhere in my statement anytime anyplace that we talked about harm and so our members of the Democratic congress are talking about civility, but protest is civility, protest is about peaceful resistance to the kind of actions that we are experiencing from this president.”
[Paul Ryan: Maxine Waters should apologize for inciting harassment of Trump officials]
.@RepMaxineWaters: “Trump is the one who is creating lies, trying to have people believe that I talked about harming people.” #SpecialReport https://t.co/KlTr5fNdtG pic.twitter.com/FsUNk9OtXP
— Fox News (@FoxNews) June 25, 2018
Further arguing that her comments were misinterpreted during an appearance on MSNBC’s “All In With Chris Hayes,” Waters sought to make a rhetorical point, listing off all the times Trump has made “violent” statements.
Waters made headlines when she said at a rally over the weekend: “If you see anybody from the cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, and a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd to push back on them and you tell them they’re not welcome anymore, anywhere.” That came after a Virginia restaurant on Friday refused to serve White House press secretary Sarah Sanders because of her position in the White House. The restaurant owner specifically cited the Trump administration’s stance on transgender people serving in the military.
Trump responded to her in a tweet Monday afternoon saying, “Congresswoman Maxine Waters, an extraordinarily low IQ person, has become, together with Nancy Pelosi, the Face of the Democrat Party. She has just called for harm to supporters, of which there are many, of the Make America Great Again movement. Be careful what you wish for Max!”
Congresswoman Maxine Waters, an extraordinarily low IQ person, has become, together with Nancy Pelosi, the Face of the Democrat Party. She has just called for harm to supporters, of which there are many, of the Make America Great Again movement. Be careful what you wish for Max!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 25, 2018
