President Trump said Friday he isn’t bothered that the man arrested for mailing bombs to prominent Democrats was a campaign supporter.
“Not at all,” Mr. Trump told reporters. “You look at what happened to Steve Scalise. That was a supporter of a different party.”
Rep. Scalise, Louisiana Republican, was wounded last year by a gunman who had been a volunteer for Sen. Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign.
Mr. Trump said he didn’t see pictures of the van of the suspected bomber, Cesar Sayoc Jr. of Florida, which was covered with political stickers, images of the president and anti-Democrat stickers.
“I didn’t see my face on the van,” the president said. “I heard he was a person that preferred me over others, but I did not see that.”
Asked if he intends to tone down his campaign rhetoric at rallies, Mr. Trump said he has already done so.
“I think I’ve been toned down, you want to know the truth,” Mr. Trump said. “I could really tone it up. Because as you know, the media has been really unfair to me and to the Republican Party. I think the media has been very, very unfair in terms of the Republican Party and the way it’s been covered. Many of them admit that, but the media has been unbelievably unfair to Republicans, conservatives, and certainly to me.
He added, “But with all of that being said, we’re winning. So, I like that.”
“We’re running a great campaign. People love what we’re doing,” the president said. “They love what we’re saying. Republicans had tremendous momentum, and then of course this happened, and it was all that people talked about, it was tragic, and rightfully so…. Now we have to start this momentum again.”
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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