On Monday’s broadcast of CNN’s “OutFront,” host Erin Burnett said that 2024 Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump repeating the “fight,” message from after his first assassination attempt “is not going to be helpful.”
While speaking with former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R), Burnett asked, “Gov. Pawlenty, on the fundraising side, the former President is fundraising off of it. He sent out a message, fundraising, saying, ‘FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT!!!!!’, and a donation link. Do you think that’s what he should be doing in this moment?”
Pawlenty responded, “I’ll answer that, but let me just step back, when you want to get onto issues about what’s causing violence and crime in our country, we could get into a whole discussion about illegal immigration and the crime that comes from that, we could get into social policies and the crime that the Defund the Police movement, the anti-police movement, the going light on law enforcement that we see from the left [have caused]. So, if you want to go there, I can go there fully, I’d be happy to. But I think…this interview is about political rhetoric and its contribution to potential violence. And I don’t think President Trump should be fundraising off a near-tragedy. But, sadly, all politicians send out all kinds of wild claims in their fundraising. It’s unfortunate, but I think we could at least draw the line at fundraising off tragedies or near-tragedies.”
Burnett then said, “Right. And, of course, ‘FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT!!!!!’ in all CAPS, with exclamation points, if we’re going to say that these things lead to rhetoric and people wanting to do violent things, that, obviously, is not going to be helpful.”
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