Steyer: Trump, GOP have helped fuel ‘political violence’

Democratic donor Tom Steyer on Sunday pointed at least some of the blame in the direction of President Trump and the Republican Party when discussing last week’s attempted bombings, of which he was one of the intended victims. 

“I think his response to the tragedy … was appropriate,” Steyer told CNN’s “State of the Union” when asked about Trump’s comments in the wake of the shooting. “But there’s something much bigger than that going on here, which is the atmosphere that he’s created and that the Republican Party has created in terms of political violence.”

“And I think, if you look across the political scene, what you see is routine, systematic lawlessness, an attempt to break small-D democratic norms, in pursuit of victory at all costs,” he said, proceeding to list off ways he believes norms have been violated.

{mosads}”We see it in voter suppression. We see it in extreme gerrymandering. We see it in the violent political rhetoric,” he said.

“But, more than that, we see it in a president … who has been breaking the law systematically as a candidate, as a businessperson, and as a president.”

Democratic donor Tom Steyer, who was one of the intended recipients of last week’s suspicious packages, says President Trump has created an atmosphere of “routine, systematic lawlessness … in pursuit of victory at all costs” #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/co999Gmfq1

— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) October 28, 2018

Steyer tied that general environment to the attempted bombings.

“There’s obviously no direct link, Jake,” he said when asked if he believed Trump was to blame for the attempted attacks. “But I’m absolutely associating and blaming him for creating the atmosphere that exists.”

Trump ripped into Steyer over his interview later Sunday, likening him to a “crazed and stumbling lunatic.”

Just watched Wacky Tom Steyer, who I have not seen in action before, be interviewed by @jaketapper. He comes off as a crazed & stumbling lunatic who should be running out of money pretty soon. As bad as their field is, if he is running for President, the Dems will eat him alive!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 28, 2018

Steyer responded over Twitter, saying, “It is unthinkable that in the midst of the horrible political violence our president would resort to name-calling instead of repairing the damage to the fabric of our country.”

.@realdonaldtrump just tweeted at me in his typical insulting style after watching @CNNsotu. It is unthinkable that in the midst of the horrible political violence our president would resort to name-calling instead of repairing the damage to the fabric of our country.

— Tom Steyer (@TomSteyer) October 28, 2018