Thursday on CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360,” senior political commentator and former Obama adviser David Axelrod complained that President Donald Trump was “targeting people who disagree with him.”
Discussing the assassination of Charlie Kirk, Axelrod said, “As to the president, you know, I agree with David, his words this afternoon were good. He went online last night or they released a statement and he said, ‘This was this is the tragic consequence of demonizing those with whom you disagree, day after day, year after year and the most despicable way possible.’ But then he says it’s all about the radical left. And in that way, he is really targeting people who disagree with him. And in a very broad way. We need the president of the United States to to reject that kind of language and not use that kind of language. And let’s all be let’s all be serious about this. This is a standard practice of his.”
He added, “All I’m saying is that the President of the United States should model that behavior for his followers and for the whole country. That’s what we need a president to do to stand up and say, no matter how much we disagree, we should not dehumanize each other. We should not demonize each other. We should not accuse each other of being sick and evil and unpatriotic because when you do those things, you are encouraging people who are easily triggered to heed your words and go out and act on them. And that’s what we have to begin to avoid. If you want to honor Charlie Kirk who should be with his family today and not in that hearse, then take steps to make sure that there isn’t another victim down the line.”
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