South Carolina Republican, Rep. Mark Sanford, on Thursday morning, stated that President Trump is “partially to blame” for the motivation behind the horrific attack on Republican Congressmen during baseball practice in Virginia, Wednesday morning.
“I would argue that the president is at least in partially — not in any way totally — but partially to blame for demons that have been unleashed,” Sanford said during an appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “[N]ot with what happened yesterday, but the fact that you’ve got the top guy saying, ‘Well, I wish I could hit you in the face. And if not, why don’t you and I’ll pay your legal fees.’ That’s bizarre — we ought to call it as such.”
According to Sanford, Washington D.C.’s atmosphere is “surreal.” He further indicated that it would be better for the Congress to do some soul-searching before taking any more steps.
“We’re at an inflection point,” Sanford said. “[I] think we have to watch out as a society because, if we don’t watch out, civility is indeed a part of civilized government and an open political system.
“If you let these forces play out, I think we end up at a very, very bad spot,” he continued. “I think what happened yesterday was symptomatic of it.”
Additionally, the lawmaker from South Carolina asked politicians from both parties to unite and try to stop hurling dirt at each other.
Following the attack on Wednesday, in which House Majority Whip Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) was shot at the hip, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) addressed members of the Congress, saying, “We are united in our shock. We are united in our anguish. And an attack on one of us is an attack on all of us.”
Practicing baseball at another location, House Democrats stopped and started praying for their colleagues on the other side of the aisle, shortly after news of the attack spread.
According to the hospital where he is being treated, Medstar Washington Hospital Center, Scalise is in serious condition. The hospital staff says Scalise has already received “multiple units of blood transfusion” and “will require additional operations.”
The attack on the GOP baseball practice injured five including two Capitol Police officers, David Bailey and Crystal Griner, a congressional staffer for Texas Republican Rep. Roger Williams, Zack Barth, and a lobbyist for Tyson Foods, Matt Mika.
