14 March 2016•Update: 22 March 2016
By Kasim Ileri
WASHINGTON
Donald Trump’s rhetoric is to blame for violence and disruption at his rallies, the White House said Monday.
“One of the reasons that there's so much energy at these events is that you have an aspiring political leader inflaming tensions and appealing to peoples' darker impulses and trying to capitalize on their anxieties to provide energy to his campaign,” spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters while responding to a question about protests at the billionaire real estate mogul’s rallies in Chicago and St. Louis.
The Republican presidential frontrunner’s rally in Chicago last Friday was forced to be canceled after violence erupted. In Kansas City a day later, a similar scene played out but that rally went on.
Republican and Democratic candidates have blamed Trump’s sharp and at times discriminative rhetoric that has lead to protests and violence at his events.
Earnest also blamed Republican Party leadership for standing by Trump, while at the same time saying it is against his campaign. “On one hand, they [Republicans], you know, wring their hands about Mr. Trump's behavior, but then when asked, they pledge fealty to his campaign in the hopes that he would be elected to lead the greatest country on the planet, and at some point, somebody in the Republican Party is going to have to step up and show some leadership,” he said.
He suggested that it's hard to imagine Trump changing his rhetoric as long as in the Republican Party, particularly the leaders, continue to stand up and say they'll support him if he's the Republican nominee.
Noting President Barack Obama’s dissatisfaction about the events at Trump’s rallies, he also reiterated that the president is still confident the businessman will not be elected to the White House.
