All eyes on Republican front-runner as he campaigns today in Ohio and Missouri
Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump continued to take political flak on Saturday for violence that broke out at a cancelled campaign rally of his in Chicago.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, one of Trump's rivals in the race for the party's nomination, told supporters at a campaign event in Largo, Fla., that the protesters in Chicago are "not blameless," but suggested Trump's campaign style has fuelled some of the chaos.
"This is what happens when political candidates talk as if they're people on Twitter. And the result is now bleeding over into the broader culture," Rubio said.
"This is a man who, in his rallies, has told his supporters to basically beat up the people in the crowd and he'll pay their legal fees, someone who has encouraged people in the audience to rough up anyone who stands up and says something he doesn't like," he added.
Friday evening's rally that caused the uproar was organized in Chicago — and then postponed — by Trump's organizers, over safety concerns as it became clear there was a vocal group of protesters in the crowd.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz says his Republican rival for the party's nomination bears some of the responsibility for the violence that broke out at the rally.
Donald Trump rally postponed as protesters, supporters clashWhite Donald Trump rally attendee charged with hitting black man
Thousands of people showed up for the event at the University of Illinois at Chicago and in the streets outside the UIC Pavilion.
Once the rally was called off, the chaos and shouting from protesters in the crowd boiled over, with confrontations between Trump supporters, protesters and police.
When it was over, at least five people were under arrest.
Cruz later said the New York billionaire has created the wrong kind of environment for people trying to attend these events and referred to reports that a number of journalists have been man-handled by security people at Trump rallies.
This anti-Trump protester made it to the podium at the University of Illinois at Chicago Pavilion before security officials removed him from the venue. (Tasos/Katopodis/AFP/Getty Images)
"When you have a campaign that is facing allegations of physical violence against members of the press, you create an environment that only encourages this sort of nasty discourse," he said.
Cruz was speaking to reporters at a suburban Chicago Republican dinner about 50 kilometres from where his Republican presidential rival's team said it was forced to cancel the rally. even though police say they were ready.
The Texas senator called it a "sad day," adding that "political discourse should occur in this country without the threat of violence, without anger and rage and hatred directed at each other."
An anti-Donald Trump protester tears a campaign sign inside the UIC Pavilion. (Tasos Katopodis/AFP/Getty Images)
Cruz said that blame for the events in downtown Chicago rests with the protesters but "in any campaign, responsibility starts at the top."
"When the candidate urges supporters to engage in physical violence, to punch people in the face, the predictable consequence of that is that is escalates. Today is unlikely to be the last such incidence," Cruz said.
A Trump supporter, right, exchanges words with a demonstrator, left, after the rally was cancelled. (Kamil Krzaczynski/Reuters)
Both Rubio and fellow Republican presidential candidate John Kasich, Ohio's governor, suggested on Saturday that they may not support Trump if he becomes the party's nominee.
Rubio told supporters that while he was currently sticking with his pledge to back the nominee if he wasn't the party's choice, "it's getting harder every day."
Kasich said the "toxic environment" Trump is creating "makes it very, extremely difficult" to support him.
"To see Americans slugging themselves at a political rally deeply disturbed me," Kasich said while campaigning in Cincinnati. "We're better than that."
Clinton condemns 'divisive rhetoric'
Hillary Clinton, the front-runner for the Democrats' presidential nomination, issued a statement after events in Chicago, saying, "The divisive rhetoric we are seeing should be of grave concern to us all."
Demonstrators taunt supporters of Donald Trump as they leave what was supposed to be a rally for the Republican presidential hopeful at the University of Illinois at Chicago. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
"We all have our differences, and we know many people across the country feel angry," she said. "We need to address that anger together. All of us, no matter what party we belong to or what views we hold, should not only say loudly and clearly that violence has no place in our politics, we should use our words and deeds to bring Americans together."
Police in Chicago say they played no role in the decision to postpone Friday night's rally. Trump said the call was made "in conjunction" with police. But Chicago Police Interim Supt. John Escalante said his department was not consulted or asked for an opinion as to whether the event should be cancelled.
Trump in Ohio, Missouri
The political world is closely watching the latest Trump campaign events in light of what happened in Chicago.
The Republican front-runner is scheduled to campaign Saturday in Ohio — Dayton and Cleveland — before an evening event in Kansas City, Missouri.
Trump said he postponed the event in Chicago because he didn't "want to see people hurt or worse."
Trump told MSNBC in a telephone interview: "I think we did the right thing."
D.C. presidential caucuses
Republicans will vote in Washington, D.C.'s presidential caucuses on Saturday.
Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders says high turnout in the Illinois primary next week will help him like it did in Michigan.
Sanders spoke to crowds Friday evening at a school in Summit, about 25 kilometres southwest of Chicago. Illinois' primary is Tuesday.
Sanders released three television commercials Friday in Illinois. One included Cook County Commissioner Jesus "Chuy" Garcia, who lost Chicago's mayoral race last year, but forced a runoff contest in Mayor Rahm Emanuel's re-election bid. Emanual, a former White House aide, endorsed Hillary Clinton.
Sanders blasted Emanuel for his controversial push to close dozens of Chicago schools in 2013 over poor performance. Sanders said, "I want to thank Rahm Emanuel for not endorsing me."
Sanders released three television commercials Friday in Illinois. One included Cook County Commissioner Jesus "Chuy" Garcia, who lost Chicago's mayoral race last year, but forced a runoff contest in Mayor Rahm Emanuel's re-election bid. Emanual, a former White House aide, endorsed Hillary Clinton.
Sanders blasted Emanuel for his controversial push to close dozens of Chicago schools in 2013 over poor performance. Sanders said, "I want to thank Rahm Emanuel for not endorsing me."
With files from CBC NewsReport Typo
No comments:
Post a Comment