Kacper Pempel/Reuters
- President Donald Trump‘s name was invoked by the alleged perpetrator in at least 36 criminal cases involving violence, violent threats, or assault allegations, according to a recent ABC News report.
- In 29 of the 36 cases, the perpetrator or suspect was supportive of the president, while in seven cases the person was opposed to Trump, ABC reported.
- But Trump has repeatedly rejected claims that his rhetoric motivates violence or deepens political divisions in the country.
- ABC could not find any criminal cases in federal or state court in which former presidents George W. Bush or Barack Obama were invoked by the perpetrator of a violent act or threat.
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President Donald Trump‘s name was invoked by the alleged perpetrator in at least 36 criminal cases involving violence, violent threats, or assault allegations, according to a recent ABC News report.
The same cannot be said of Trump’s most recent predecessors. ABC could not find any criminal cases in federal or state court in which a violent act was committed or threatened in the name of former presidents George W. Bush or Barack Obama.
But Trump has repeatedly rejected claims that his rhetoric motivates violence or deepens political divisions in the country.
"I think my rhetoric brings people together," he told reporters earlier this month after a man posted an anti-immigrant screed and massacred 22 people in El Paso. "Our country is doing incredibly well."
Critics have long argued that the president has promoted political violence by joking about shooting migrants on the US-Mexico border, encouraging police violence against people in custody, and telling his supporters to "knock the crap" out of anti-Trump protesters.
In 29 of the 36 cases, the perpetrator or suspect was supportive of the president, while in seven cases the person was opposed to Trump, ABC reported. In nine of the cases, the alleged perpetrators praised Trump during or shortly after violently attacking innocent people.
The majority of the suspects and perpetrators in the 36 cases were white men and their targets were mostly people of color, including "African Americans, Latinos, Muslims and gay men."
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Source: Business Insider – feedback@businessinsider.com (Eliza Relman)