Former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci said Monday President Trump uses divisive language to stir up his base.
While Mr. Scaramucci said it’s “unfair” for critics to accuse the president’s rhetoric of inspiring a shooting in El Paso, Texas, he said, “there’s definitely linkage.”
“I can only surmise that he thinks that there’s value to creating this sort of combativeness and this sort of combustibility. He thinks it’s value to his base, that it’s perhaps stoking them up,” he said on CNN’s “New Day.”
“I think one of the fears that they would have if you look at the polling numbers that they have to get the base out with the highest level of participation possible. So he may be thinking that this sort of stuff is helping his base,” Mr. Scaramucci added.
Mr. Scaramucci said he does not condone the president’s rhetoric, saying if it continues he could lose the support of his allies.
“It’s former White House officials, former Cabinet members, former people in the American military. It’s not just me. It’s not like I’m the only one. I may be the only one saying it, but trust me. There’s a large group of people. If he keeps it up, they’ll say the policies, they’re grea,t but you know what? This sort of rhetoric and this sort of disunity sort of stuff is overpowering the policy.”
Critics have blamed the president’s rhetoric on immigration as an inspiration for the El Paso shooting suspect, who wrote in his manifesto the massacre was a response to an “invasion” of Hispanics and a way to “fight to reclaim my country from destruction.”
• Bailey Vogt can be reached at bvogt@washingtontimes.com.
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