Donald Trump’s appalling reaction to a hate crime committed in his name
Michael Tercha/Chicago Tribune/TNS via Getty Images
Two Boston men were charged Wednesday in the beating of a homeless Mexican man. The victim was allegedly sleeping outside a subway station when brothers Scott and Steve Leader rummaged through his things, then started beating him around the face and neck and hitting him with a metal pole. One witness heard the brothers laughing as they walked away.
Here's what police say Scott Leader told them to justify the assault: "Donald Trump was right — all these illegals need to be deported."
Here's what Donald Trump said when told about the alleged assault (according to the Boston Globe) at a Wednesday press conference in New Hampshire: "I haven't heard about that. It would be a shame, but I haven't heard about that." Then the crowd buzzed, and Trump added: "I will say that people who are following me are very passionate. They love this country and they want this country to be great again. They are passionate. I will say that, and everybody here has reported it."
Here's the video, provided by the Trump campaign. The exchange in question starts at 7:50, but unfortunately you can't hear the questioner. The first question appears to be about death threats against Megyn Kelly; Trump's remarks quoted by the Boston Globe, which the Globe says (and the Trump campaign did not dispute) are about the assault, start at 8:28.
In other words, Trump, asked a question about an alleged hate crime committed by two of his followers, pivoted to praising the "passion" of his followers.
When people are committing hate crimes in your name, you do not call them "passionate." You do not say they "want this country to be great again." You say they do not represent you or your beliefs. You talk about why your followers are different from people who beat up homeless men because they're "illegal."
Donald Trump didn't explicitly say it's okay to beat people up because of how they look, but at least two men have interpreted it that way. And instead of telling them, and the rest of his followers, that that interpretation is unequivocally wrong, he — at best — framed it as a moderately regrettable downside of his movement's "passion."
On Friday, Trump finally acknowledged that violence is unacceptable, though he continued to speak favorably about his supporters' "passion":
Boston incident is terrible. We need energy and passion, but we must treat each other with respect. I would never condone violence.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 21, 2015