The media narrative of whites lashing out against other groups as Donald Trump rose to become president-elect is the leading irritant stirring unrest across the U.S., former Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum suggested Tuesday evening during a televised forum.

Addressing the spike in hate crimes since Trump was elected on Nov. 8, Santorum called out the media, including the two CNN commentators he was sitting with, for focusing on what he called “whitelash.”