Trump Refuses To Take Blame For Sayoc, Says Will Not Tone Down Rhetoric: ‘I Could Really Tone It Up’
Speaking to reporters gathered outside the White House Friday, President Trump discussed the so-called “MAGABomber” Cesar Altieri Sayoc, refusing to take any blame over his actions, CBS News reports via Twitter.
“There is no blame. There is no anything. If you look at what happened to Steve Scalise, that was a supporter of a different party,” the president said.
This comment was in reference to a June 2017 shooting when a Bernie Sanders supporter — a man named James Hodgkinson — opened fire at a baseball field in Virginia, injuring Republican Steve Scalise and four other individuals, according to Time.
Many have accused President Trump of inspiring violence in individuals like Sayoc.
In an op-ed published today, The Daily Beast‘s Rick Wilson went a step further arguing that President Trump’s “gushing sewer of inflammatory rhetoric” is the root cause of Sayoc’s actions.
It is undoubtedly a non-refutable fact that Cesar Sayoc is an ardent Trump supporter — that much is evident from the 56-year-old’s social media feeds. Via social media, Sayoc threatened Democrats with violence and spread baseless conspiracy theories, namely about liberal donor George Soros.
Leaked photos of the registered Republican’s van — covered with pro-Trump and anti-media stickers — further demonstrate that the man is indeed an ardent, far-right Trump supporter.
As The Daily Beast further notes, the fact that Sayoc is a Trump-supporting conspiracy theorist does not come as a surprise considering the fact that — up until a few hours ago — many prominent right-wing pundits alleged, without evidence, that the attempted bombings were nothing but false flags meant to aid the Democratic Party in midterms.
Nevertheless, President Trump refuses to tone down his inflammatory rhetoric. He is, in fact, threatening to “tone it up.”
“I think I have been toned down, if you want to know the truth. I could really tone it up,” Trump told reporters outside the White House, The Hill reports.
"I think I have been toned down, if you want to know the truth. I could really tone it up," @POTUS says. https://t.co/VYW72PHFYU pic.twitter.com/oxkEf6z3q8
— CBS News (@CBSNews) October 26, 2018
Earlier today, President Trump blamed “this bomb stuff” for slowing down the momentum for the Republican Party, urging voters to “go out and vote” via Twitter.
In another Twitter message, posted after Sayoc’s arrest, President Trump applauded law enforcement officials across the country for “their incredible work, skill, and determination.”
The president, so it seems, continues to send mixed signals, one moment calling for unity, the next continuing his inflammatory rhetoric.
Earlier today, speaking to a group of young black leaders at the White House, Trump smiled as the crowd chanted “lock them up” — referring to supposed globalists, like George Soros — and then repeated the phrase back at the audience, accusing “the globalists” of “helping foreign countries,” according to The Hill.
