ABC host George Stephanopoulos said on “This Week” on Sunday that Donald Trump and his supporters encouraged “violent rhetoric” as they discussed yesterday’s assassination attempt on the former president.
“Of course, President Trump and his supporters are complicit in this violent rhetoric,” Stephanopoulos said.
Co-host Martha Raddatz added, “Exactly, George. We were just looking back this morning at comments made by former President Trump, who warned last March of possible death and destruction if indicted by the Manhattan district attorney: ‘Our country is being destroyed while they tell us to act peacefully.’ Trump warned in January that there would be chaos across the country if the criminal charges against him were allowed. And then, of course, in March, he said, ‘If I don’t win the election, the whole country will be a catastrophe. And that’s just a small part of it. The whole country will be a catastrophe. And that’s just a small part of it.’ He said he was half-joking, and that he was quoted out of context, but those are certainly his words.”
She added: “You’ve probably heard that from his supporters as well. Some of them are certainly angry. Let’s not forget January 6th. After what happened yesterday, January 6th is going to be forgotten in many ways in the campaign. This is a very tough time for the campaign. President Trump is going to highlight that this week in Milwaukee and President Biden is going to have to think about how he’s going to proceed and what he’s going to say specifically.”
