Kate Bedingfield — Joe Biden’s deputy campaign manager and communications director — is blaming President Donald Trump for the violence erupting across the nation amid protests against racial injustice.
Appearing on “Fox News Sunday,” Bedingfield drew comparisons between how Biden is responding to the chaos versus Trump.
She claimed Biden is approaching this moment with a “sense of purpose” and great leadership while Trump is making things worse.
“It’s exactly the opposite of what we’ve been seeing from Trump who’s been trying to incite violence this entire summer,” Bedingfield said.
Watch her comments below:
Trump “has been trying to incite violence this entire summer,” Biden deputy campaign manager + spox Kate Beddingfield claims
— Emily Brooks (@emilybrooksnews) August 30, 2020
Chris Wallace visibly taken aback. She stood by it. “He has encouraged his supporters to go out, to be aggressive.”https://t.co/LRoEZJMgbh pic.twitter.com/5hI5igNXpt
Host Chris Wallace, clearly perplexed by her response, pressed Bedingfield on her claim.
“You saw Donald Trump go to New Hampshire on Friday and say, you know, ‘Protestors my ass.'” Bedingfield said.
She added, “He’s had every opportunity to speak as a leader to this nation that is hurting, to speak to people who are struggling, who are trying to rightly seek justice in this moment.”
Chris Wallace refused to move on to the next question until Bedingfield answered directly whether she believes Trump is inciting violence.
“Absolutely, he has. He has encouraged his supporters to go out, to be aggressive,” Bedingfield said.
She continued, “He has had every opportunity to try to fan the flames here, and that is the reason we are living in Donald Trump’s America.”
Tensions spilled over after Jacob Blake, a Black man, was shot and killed by Wisconsin police officers on Sunday.
Biden released a statement Sunday afternoon where he condemned “violence of every kind by anyone” and challenged Trump to “do the same,” as IJR previously reported.
During his campaign rally in New Hampshire on Friday, Trump slammed Washington D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser (D), and protesters for demonstrations that happened during the last night of the Republican National Convention, as IJR previously reported.