Newt Gingrich is following President Trump’s lead in suggesting that those who’ve been notified about mail bombs being sent to them share an equal burden of responsibility for promoting violence via violent rhetoric.
Gingrich addressed the attacks during an Axios sponsored ‘breaking-news breakfast’ discussion centered on securing democracy on Thursday morning, October 25. While pitching his two cents in on the controversy, the former politician broke from Democrats Lisa Monaco and Sen. Chris Van Hollen to defend Trump’s assertion that the media has “earned” the “enemy of the people” label. The argument is one that the president has previously conjured.
“There’s no more anti-American network than CNN International,” The Hill quotes Gingrich as stating during the event.
Gingrich rejected right-wing conspiracies that have come about to allege that the terroristic activities of the preceding hours reeked of a “false flag” operation, and stated his position that whoever might be behind the suspicious packages be prosecuted for what appears to him to be “clearly attempted murder.” But the conservative demagogue remained adamant in his stance that Democrats have contributed equally to the hostile political climate which is believed to have motivated a suspected serial bomber.
TMZ happened to be in Washington, D.C., in time to catch up to Gingrich as he was leaving the juncture. There, he was no less willing to double down on the assertion.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XE1dYs8vOA
When asked whether he agrees with the likes of ex-White House Director of Communications Anthony Scaramucci, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and others who feel like President Trump’s fiery rhetoric might have incited a potential domestic terror threat, he seamlessly flipped the question to pose whether the reporter would include aggressive remarks made by California Rep. Maxine Waters and Obama-era Attorney General Eric Holder in the equation.
“Look, I don’t think there’s a direct relationship of any kind between Trump and the [sic] incidents,” Gingrich then said. “The people you are talking about also are people who’ve been publicly very hostile to conservatism. Very!”
Gingrich’s remarks come after the President took to Twitter to demand that the press “clean up its act, FAST!” after declaring that, “A very big part of the Anger we see today in our society is caused by the purposely false and inaccurate reporting of the Mainstream Media that I refer to as Fake News.”
A very big part of the Anger we see today in our society is caused by the purposely false and inaccurate reporting of the Mainstream Media that I refer to as Fake News. It has gotten so bad and hateful that it is beyond description. Mainstream Media must clean up its act, FAST!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 25, 2018
Many have perceived the call to action, as announced by President Trump, to be an alarming one — especially considering that the offices of CNN and the San Diego Union-Tribune happened to be among those forced to evacuate upon receiving potentially deadly devices on Wednesday.
