Amid inflammatory rhetoric, targets of Trump's words become targets of bombs



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During the fall campaign, President Trump called the Democrats "evil" and claimed that they were "too dangerous to govern." He denounced the presidency of Barack Obama and demonized former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, inspiring the slogans of "Lock her up! "At his rallies.

The president also used his chair of intimidation to taunt the representative Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) As "weak I.Q. John Brennan, former director of the CIA, and the conspiracy theories of supporters of liberal philanthropist George Soros. And he called the media "the enemy of the people", calling CNN's reports "false information".

This week, these words of Trump's rhetoric became the targets of violence in the form of homemade bombs, many of which were revealed Wednesday.

The investigators did not disclose information on the origin of the packages, and there was no evidence that these acts were related to a political campaign. Nevertheless, a common theme among the targets was undeniable: each of them was a recurring topic of Trump attacks.

Police said packages containing homemade bombs to Obama and Clinton's homes had been intercepted by the secret service, while a Monday had been found at Soros' home.

In addition, an unencrypted device addressed to Brennan was found at CNN headquarters in New York and another, addressed to Waters, was found in a congressional mail sorting center. A similar parcel was found addressed to former Attorney General Eric Holder Jr.


President Trump listens to the first lady, Melania Trump, to speak Wednesday at the White House. (Jabin Botsford / The Washington Post)

Trump and other Republican leaders rushed to denounce attacks on the Democrats and CNN on Wednesday, saying such acts could not be tolerated. For many politicians, the day was one day short – a sobering pause just 13 days after Election Day to reflect on a political atmosphere conducive to apocalyptic images and violent clashes.

Speaking from the East Room of the White House, Trump said that officials in his administration were "extremely angry, upset, dissatisfied with what we have witnessed" and promised that "the security of the American people is my absolute and absolute priority ".

The president appealed to all Americans for them to unite, without, however, addressing the tone of his campaign rhetoric.

"We need to come together and send a very clear, strong and indisputable message that acts or threats of political violence of any kind have no place in the United States of America," Trump said.


Supporters of President Trump wait outside before a rally on Wednesday in Mosinee, Wisconsin (Andy Manis / Getty Images)

Charles E. Schumer (DN.Y.), Leader of the Senate Minority, and Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Leader of the Parliamentary Minority, responded in a joint statement: "The words of President Trump sound hollow until 39, that he return to his statements that condone acts of violence. "

They went on to say that Trump had "divided the Americans with his words and actions," citing his encouragement for the representative Greg Gianforte (R-Mont.) For scandalizing a journalist; his misgivings about the murderous rally of neo-Nazis and white supremacy in August 2017 in Charlottesville; his encouragement to supporters at rallies that were violent with the protesters; his eulogy for foreign dictators who kill their own citizens; and his attacks on the free press as "enemy of the people".

Jon Meacham, journalist and historian who wrote the book "The soul of America: the battle of our best angels," said the most controversial political periods in the nation's history have resulted in violence against political figures. He said he had long feared that history would be repeated at the time of Trump.

"We have examples of political violence in the United States in the Jackson era, on the road to civil war, during the civil war, the progressive era and the cataclysm of the 1960s," he said. said Meacham. "What happened today is a reminder of the issues of the times in which we live. It is an era of fundamental redefinition of politics and culture. This requires stable, non-incendiary leadership, and we have seen far too much inflammatory language from the top. "

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders described the shipment of explosives as "acts of terrorism," while prominent Republican lawmakers condemned it as a a cowardly attack aimed at terrorizing public figures. Numerous appeals have been launched to bring those responsible to justice quickly.

"The full weight of our government is deployed to conduct this investigation and bring to justice those responsible for these despicable acts," Trump said.

Clinton, speaking at a fundraiser for congressional candidate Donna Shalala in Coral Gables, Fla., Thanked the secret services for intercepting the parcel addressed to her home and described it as "troubling period".

"This is a time of deep divisions and we must do everything in our power to bring our country closer together," she said.

Steve Scalise (R-La.), Who survived a shoot out that targeted lawmakers on a baseball field in Alexandria in 2017, wrote: tweets"These attempts at attacks that go beyond crime are acts of pure terror. Violence and terror have no place in our politics or elsewhere in our society. "

he added"Those responsible for these perverse acts of terror must be prosecuted and brought to justice, and I am confident that our law enforcement officers will succeed. As a nation, we must agree that it is a dangerous path and that it can not become the new norm. "

Trump traveled to Wisconsin on Wednesday for a campaign rally, where House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) Warmed the crowd in anticipation of the president's arrival in Mosinee.

"Let me just say something that, in my opinion, should be said someday like today," Ryan began.

Some in the crowd responded with a Trumpian chant: "Build the wall!"

"I'm going to get there," said Ryan. "Have you seen the news this morning about these devices? It is an act of terrorism. There is no place for that in our democracy. We reject that. "

When asked on Wednesday whether any of Trump's rhetoric could have contributed to the mailings, Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) defended the president.

"A lot of things could have contributed to that," he said.

He added, "I do not really see anything wrong with the president. I think you know, he's in a difficult position, he's attacked from all sides and he should be able to express himself. "

But Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Arizona), who has long lamented the demise of civility from national politics, said Wednesday that it was obvious that the attack attempts were "political."

"What the president says counts, and if he took a more civil tone, it would make a difference," Flake said in an interview with CNN. "Civility can not wait after an election. The president should not call the press "the enemy of the people". . . People hear that and they follow it.

Trump has long assailed the targets of the packets. He regularly excites Obama's presidency and is a staunch supporter of the lie that the first black president of the nation would not be born in the United States.

Despite her victory against Clinton's 2016 presidential election, Trump still pursues her in her speeches, inspiring crowd vocals aimed at "Locking Up Her Wife!" Before her appearance at Wednesday's Wisconsin rally, the crowd broke in a song "Lock it up! while Republican Republican candidate Leah Vukmir attacked Clinton.

At his rallies, Trump also regularly mocks Waters and attacks CNN by reporting "false news" that his crowd regularly attends, "CNN fears!" And Soros has long been the target of far-right groups and the subject of antisemitic conspiracy theories.

Following angry protests over Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation, Trump and other Republicans tried to make Democrats the "crowd" party and attempted to tie specific candidates for radical personalities of the left.

A number of Trump supporters have advanced the "false flag" theory on social media and radio, claiming that the Liberals may have sent explosive devices to overturn the "crowd" argument and to present the Democrats as victims of unruly conservatives.

Rush Limbaugh, a conservative radio debate presenter, said on the radio on Wednesday: "In recent weeks, the Democrats have had all these horrible public relations, all those angry crowds. . . Would not it be good for you if you're a Democratic agent to give the impression that the Republicans are a bunch of lunatics and they also have criminals? "

The "mob" framework is not only a feature of Trump's rally speeches, it is also at the heart of the advertising of some GOP campaigns.

In Minnesota's 1 st District of the Rural Congress, the National Republican Congress Committee has repeatedly attempted to link Dan Feehan, a Bronze-Filled Army Veteran, to left-wing anti-fascist activists who have clashed with protesters from the police and from the right.

"Feehan works in a liberal organization funded by George Soros, the chief financier of the left and anti-American causes," a narrator in the same place explains, as the sound of smashing glass parades images of anarchist protesters.

John Wagner, Erica Werner and David Weigel contributed to this report.

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