Hate is running rampant in America, but the 45th President of the United States can only focus blame on anybody but himself.
Last week a white man with a history of violence shot and killed two African-Americans, seemingly at random, at a Kentucky Kroger store following a failed attempt to barge into a black church.
Then mail bombs were sent to people who’d been criticized by Trump, the suspect a man who had railed against Democrats and minorities with hate-filled messages online.
On Saturday, a man shouting anti-Semitic slurs opened fire at a Pittsburgh synagogue, killing 11 people attending Jewish services. The suspect was a white supremacist.
Those three incidents in 72 hours shared one thing: hate.
Yet, through it all, President Trump has been unwilling, or unable, to criticize white nationalists or racists.
Instead, Trump lashed out anew today at the news media, calling it “the true Enemy of the People,” and he again blamed what he called “fraudulent” reporting for anger that has led to a spate of recent violence in the country.
Trump’s latest invective on Twitter comes as he faces calls to tone down his public statements amid criticism that his attacks on political rivals and the media bear some culpability for the current climate.
There is great anger in our Country caused in part by inaccurate, and even fraudulent, reporting of the news. The Fake News Media, the true Enemy of the People, must stop the open & obvious hostility & report the news accurately & fairly. That will do much to put out the flame…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 29, 2018
….of Anger and Outrage and we will then be able to bring all sides together in Peace and Harmony. Fake News Must End!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 29, 2018
Trump’s morning tweets prompted some fresh rebukes, including from Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.).
“This is, for all practical purposes, a call for more violence against the press,” Murphy wrote on Twitter. “My god….what is happening???”
Others criticizing the remarks included David Lapan, a retired Marine colonel who was press secretary at the Department of Homeland Security while it was led by John F. Kelly, now Trump’s chief of staff.
“Over 30+ years as a U.S. Marine, I defended our country against its true enemies,” Lapan wrote on Twitter. “In 20+ years as a USMC, Pentagon and DHS spokesman, I dealt w/ the news media nearly every day. I know quite a bit about the press and know this — they are NOT the enemy of the American people.”
The hate in the United States came into full view last year as white supremacists marched in Charlottesville, Va., with lines of men carrying torches and chanting, “Jews will not replace us.”
Swastikas and other anti-Semitic graffiti have been cropping up on synagogues and Jewish homes around the country. Jews online are subjected to vicious slurs and threats.
More than 30,000 people have signed an open letter to Trump from the leaders of a Pittsburgh-based Jewish group who say the president will not be welcome in the city unless he denounces white nationalism and stops “targeting” minorities.
In response, Trump tweeted congratulations to the newly elected president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, a far-right nationalist with a history of denigrating women, gays and minorities.