House Majority Whip Steve Scalise chastised the media on “Fox & Friends” Friday for failing to stand up to violent political rhetoric on both sides of the aisle.
Scalise, R-La., blamed the press for not highlighting the issue of violence and said displays of brutality are not what “America’s about.”
“I’m concerned that you are seeing an increase of this,” Scalise said. “I’d like to see the mainstream media asking both Republican and Democrat leaders to stand up against this kind of rhetoric, this kind of violence.”
“But ultimately we’ve got to keep shining a light on this, to make it clear that this isn’t what politics is about in America. It’s not what the founding of our country was about. It was about freedom of speech, freedom of expression. Not violence against anybody.”
Scalise, who was shot and seriously wounded by Bernie Sanders supporter James Hodgkinson in June 2017, said it was irresponsible of Democrats to stoke hatred to push their political agenda.
Scalise also praised right-wing politicians earlier in the interview for standing up and condemning politically motivated violence, but accused Democrats of allowing the chaos to continue for their own gain.
“I would like to see leaders on both sides calling it out. You’re seeing leaders on the right calling it out. You’re not seeing any leaders on the left calling it out,” he said. “In fact, you’re seeing some of the leaders on the left inciting more violence. Calling on more violence instead of saying, ‘There’s no place for it.’”
“President Trump has worked really hard to get this economy back on track. People like the direction of the country,” he said.
“If they don’t like the direction that we’re headed, then go out and try to lay out a better course and a better agenda. That’s not what they’re trying to do on the left. They’re just trying to threaten and intimidate people and that’s not what America’s about.”
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