President Donald Trump blamed the media for the “anger” in the country after top Democrats and critics of the president were targeted with explosives sent in the mail.
"A very big part of the Anger we see today in our society is caused by the purposely false and inaccurate reporting of the Mainstream Media that I refer to as Fake News," Trump tweeted Thursday. "It has gotten so bad and hateful that it is beyond description. Mainstream Media must clean up its act, FAST!"
The tweet comes as former Vice President Joe Biden, actor Robert De Niro, and Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters' Los Angeles office were reported as the latest targets of a string of homemade explosives sent to prominent Democrats.
After an explosive was found at the home of billionaire liberal donor George Soros, a frequent target of Trump's attacks, similar devices were discovered at the homes of former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama and the New York home of former President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Shortly after, CNN was evacuated from the Time Warner building in Manhattan after a similar device was sent to the network, addressed to former CIA Director John Brennan, who actually works with MSNBC.
Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, whose name and address the would-be attacker put in the return addresses on the envelopes, also received an explosive device that was addressed to former Attorney General Eric Holder.
Two other devices, one sent to the Washington DC Congressional offices and another to her Los Angeles offices, targeted Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters, a frequent foe of the president.
It remains unclear who sent the devices.
John Brennan fires back: Brennan, one of the targets of the explosives, told Trump to “stop blaming others” and “look in the mirror” on Twitter.
"Your inflammatory rhetoric, insults, lies, (and) encouragement of physical violence are disgraceful," he wrote. "Clean up your act....try to act Presidential. The American people deserve much better."
Journalists blame Trump: Abby Phillip, a reporter at CNN, where one of the bombs was sent, noted on Twitter that “Trump is blaming the media for "anger," as bombs are being sent to the targets of HIS rhetoric.”
Conservatives believe bombs may be a hoax: While the president, the White House, and prominent Republican lawmakers like Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio condemned the attempted attacks, many in conservative media have alleged that the bombs may be a “false flag.”
Radio host Rush Limbaugh declared on his show Wednesday, “Republicans just don't do this kind of thing.”
"Even though every event, like mass shootings, remember, every mass shooting there is, the Democrats in the media try to make everybody think right off the bat that some tea partier did it, or some talk radio fan did it, or some Fox News viewer did it. Turns out, it's never, ever the case,” he said, adding that the bombs may have been the work of a “Democrat operative.”
Fox News pundit James Fitzgerald similarly suggested the bombs may be a “false flag,” adding that the bomber may be “some Democrat, low-level person ... who just decided, you know what, I’m going to put this out, because two weeks before a major election, who’s going to look like the bad guy here? The Republicans."
[Featured image via Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons]
