Trump: Chicago protesters can be traced back to Sanders
Donald Trump says some protestors in Chicago support Bernie Sanders https://t.co/Syw4ZVG4Na https://t.co/eKBTv23br2
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) March 12, 2016
Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump on Saturday blamed Bernie Sanders supporters for the massive protests that forced him to cancel a campaign rally in Chicago the night before.
Trump said his supporters at the rally “caused no problem.”
{mosads}”They were taunted, they were harassed by these other people — by the way, some represented Bernie, our communist friend,” Trump said, drawing loud boos from the Dayton, Ohio, crowd.
“With Bernie, he should really get up and say to his people, ‘stop, stop.’ Not me.”
Secret Service agents rushed onstage to protect Trump late in his speech when it appeared that someone was attempting to rush the stage.
“I was ready for him, but it’s much easier if the cops do it,” he said after the situation died down.
Trump slammed his critics who said that he should take responsibility for the unrest at his rallies and tell his supporters to be nicer.
“My people are nice, folks. My people are great,” he said.
Trump also blamed President Obama for dividing Americans along racial and partisan lines, and encouraged people to come together.
“We have got to change our thinking. Yeah and if there’s a group out there, just throw them the hell out,” he said, pivoting as he noticed a group of protesters at the rally.
“We cannot let our First Amendment rights be taken away from us folks,” he continued after the crowd jeered at the protesters.
Trump was forced to cancel a rally in Chicago on Friday night when massive demonstrations caused violent scuffles between his supporters and protesters.
He has been widely criticized for a string of violent incidents at his rallies. In the last week, a protester was sucker-punched by a Trump supporter and a reporter claimed that she was forcefully grabbed by his campaign manager.
After he canceled the Chicago rally, Trump told Fox News that he didn’t think the protests were against him but rather a “demonstration against economic conditions.” He also blamed President Obama for being a “divider.”
On Saturday, Trump showed no signs of easing up on his rhetoric. He retold a story about a general who executed 49 Muslim prisoners by having them shot with bullets dipped in pig’s blood. According to Trump’s story, a 50th prisoner was spared in order to relate the incident to his comrades.
“He went back and said what just happened, and for 28 years there was no terrorism. So I’m not saying that’s a good thing, I’m not saying that’s a bad thing,” Trump said.
“This is history, folks. We’re either going to win or lose. We can’t continue to go the way we’re going right now.”
The story was revealed to be a hoax according to several fact-checking websites.
Trump also set his sights on John Kasich during the speech, hoping to challenge the Ohio governor’s popularity in his home state.
The front-runner slammed Kasich for supporting NAFTA, a free-trade agreement implemented in the 1990s, and for his work at Lehman Brothers, which Trump called a “Wall Street predator.”
He also said that Kasich is “not the right guy” for the White House.
“He’s not tough enough. He’s not sharp enough,” Trump said. “He’s very weak on illegal immigration. He’s totally in favor of amnesty, which you can never be in favor of. He wants amnesty, he wants it always.”
– Updated at 1:05 p.m.
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