Trump admits he was wrong to compare ‘political opponents to villains’ — then accuses the media of inciting violence
President Donald Trump admitted that he was wrong to have spent the past several years demonizing his political opponents. Or, at the very least he confessed it was wrong to do so, though it’s unclear if he realizes he’s attacking himself.
“I want to begin tonight by addressing the suspicious devices and packages that were mailed to current and former high-ranking government officials,” he began taking the stage. “My highest duty as president is to keep America safe, that is what we talked about. That is what we do. The federal government is conducting in an aggressive investigation and we will find those responsible and we will bring them to justice, hopefully very soon.
He went on to say, “acts or threats of political violence are in an attack on our democracy itself. No nation can succeed the tolerance while it — not tolerate violence as the threat of violence as a method of political intimidation, coercion or control. We all know that.”
As a fact-check, the president has spent many of his rallies attacking his political opponents and threatening them with being “locked up” and other things.
Such conduct must be fiercely opposed and firmly prosecuted,” he continued. “We want all sides to come together in peace and harmony. We can do it. We can do it. We can do it. It will happen. More broadly there is much we can do to bring our nation together.”
Then, as if he was sending himself a message, Trump said everyone in politics needs to stop treating each other as “morally defective.”
“The language of moral condemnation and destructive routine, these are arguments and disagreements that have to stop, no one should carelessly compare political opponents to historical villains,” he said. “Which is done often, it is done all the time, it has got to stop. We should not mob people in public spaces or destroying public property. There is one way to settle the disagreements, it is called peacefully at the ballot box. That is what we want. As part of a larger national effort to bridge the divide and bring people together, the media also has a responsibility to set a civil tone and to stop the endless hostility and constant negative in and often times false attacks and stories. They have to do it. They have to do it. They have got to stop. Bring people together. We are just 13 days away from a very, very important election, it is an election of monumental.”
At no point did Trump mention the names of anyone who had bombs sent to them. He called them nothing more than “former high-ranking officials. In an earlier statement, the president condemned the attacks but refused to call it terrorism.