Rubio: Trump, protesters are both to blame
Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio says rival Donald Trump bears some responsibility for violence at his campaign events, but also blamed protesters who shut down a Trump rally in Chicago.
“This is Chicago, protesters are an industry,” Rubio said on Fox News late Friday. “It is clear, just from watching some of these images, that this was an organized effort, an orchestrated effort, from groups that wanted to disrupt this event, and Chicago is a hub for that sort of activity.”
{mosads}But Rubio added that Trump “bears some responsibility for the general tone” at his rallies.
“He most certainly … has in the past used some pretty rough language, saying, ’In the good old days we used to beat these people up,’ or ‘I’ll pay your legal bills if you rough them up,’ ” he added.
In a separate news conference on Friday, the Florida senator was even harsher toward Trump, saying the businessman “clearly has used language that appeals to anger.”
“I would point out there isn’t violence at my events,” Rubio said, adding that the same can be said of rivals Ted Cruz and John Kasich, as well as Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.
“There’s only one presidential candidate who has violence at their events,” he concluded.
“And I do think Donald needs to realize and take responsibility for the fact that some of the rhetoric he has used can potentially be contributing to this environment.”
Trump’s Chicago rally Friday night was called off amid massive protests.
The businessman’s supporters and protesters clashed into the night on the streets.
Trump slammed the protesters in an MSNBC interview late Friday night.
“It’s a little bit sad when you can’t have a rally in a major city in this country,” he said. “What ever happened to freedom of speech? What ever happened to the right to get together?”
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