So much for Donald Trump’s halfhearted calls for peace, love, and unity.
So much for Donald Trump’s halfhearted calls for peace, love, and unity.
Just a day after anti-Semitic terrorist Robert Bowers killed 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue, and two days after Cesar Sayoc Jr. was arrested for sending pipe bombs to Trump critics, the president is continuing his common tactic of publicly attacking victims.
On Sunday, Trump went after hedge fund billionaire and Democratic donor Tom Steyer on Twitter after Steyer appeared on CNN’s State of the Union with Jake Tapper.
“Just watched Wacky Tom Steyer, who I have not seen in action before, be interviewed by @jaketapper. He comes off as a crazed & stumbling lunatic who should be running out of money pretty soon,” Trump tweeted. “As bad as their field is, if he is running for President, the Dems will eat him alive!”
Steyer, who has for months advocated for Trump’s impeachment, was one of Sayoc Jr.’s alleged targets this week. On Friday, a suspicious package addressed to Steyer was intercepted in California, CNN reported. Authorities believe it was sent by Sayoc Jr. It is unclear from reports whether or not the package had a bomb.
“We’re thankful that everyone we work with is safe. We are seeing a systematic attack on our democracy that extends much further than just one isolated terrorist in Florida. That’s why we are running an impeachment petition to end the culture of lawlessness in our country,” Steyer tweeted on Friday.
On State of the Union, Tapper asked Steyer about a tweet that House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy posted on Tuesday, after a mail bomb was sent to billionaire Democratic philanthropist George Soros. In the tweet, which McCarthy had pinned to his Twitter account before he eventually deleted it, the Republican congressman said, “We cannot allow Soros, Steyer, and [Michael] Bloomberg to BUY this election!”
Tapper pointed out that Soros and Bloomberg are Jewish, along with Steyer’s late father.
“That seems to me like a straight-up anti-Semitic move,” Steyer told Tapper.
Steyer rejected the notion that there is “loud language on both sides,” because “what we’re seeing is terrible behavior, consistent, systematic political violence from Republicans, and when people stand up to it, then they describe that as ‘strong language on both sides.’”
The “both sides” argument was part of a statement issued by McCarthy’s communications director, Matt Sparks, in the wake of public condemnation of the congressman’s tweet.
“Understanding the particular sensitivity of the past 24 hours in the political climate today that has led to specific threats on both sides of the aisle, we will redouble our focus on our agenda of results,” Sparks said, according to CNN.
Responding to Trump’s tweet on Sunday, Steyer wrote, “ @realdonaldtrump just tweeted at me in his typical insulting style after watching @CNNsotu. It is unthinkable that in the midst of the horrible political violence our president would resort to name-calling instead of repairing the damage to the fabric of our country.”
Tapper responded by tweeting, “Thanks for watching CNN, Mr. President!”
