White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt used her Monday briefing to directly attribute the weekend shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner to a “left-wing cult of hatred” fueled by Democratic officials and media commentators who have systematically demonized President Trump and his supporters for over a decade.
“This political violence stems from a systemic demonization of him and his supporters by commentators, yes, by elected members of the Democrat Party, and even some in the media,” Leavitt said, adding that “hateful and constant and violent rhetoric directed at President Trump day after day after day for 11 years has helped to legitimize this violence.”
The press secretary drew a direct line between anti-Trump rhetoric and the shooter’s stated motivations. “When you read the manifesto of this shooter, ask yourselves, how different is the rhetoric from this almost-assassin than what you read on social media and hear in various forums every single day?” she said. “The answer, if you’re being honest with yourself, is that there is no difference at all.”
While acknowledging that “fierce disagreement” is appropriate in a democracy, Leavitt argued that the line between debate and incitement had been deliberately erased by Trump’s opponents.
“Those who constantly, falsely label and slander the president as a fascist, as a threat to democracy, and compare him to Hitler to score political points are fueling this kind of violence,” she said, singling out “commentators” and “elected members of the Democrat Party” as primary culprits.
Leavitt cited the human toll of what she described as systematic demonization. “The left-wing cult of hatred against the president and all of those who support him and work for him has gotten multiple people hurt and killed, and it almost did so again this weekend,” she said.
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
