SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
'It's Not a Threat!': Trump Says He'll Order Supporters to Disrupt Sanders' Rallies
'Be careful Bernie,' warns Republican frontrunner
Mar 13, 2016
Donald Trump on Sunday morning went after potential general election rival Bernie Sanders by calling him a liar and indicated he might soon instruct his own supporters to attend Sanders' rallies in order to foment disruption and discord among his progressive (aka "super-liberal") base.
In a tweet, Trump declared:
The social media salvo followed a chaotic cancellation of Trump rally in Chicago that turned violent on Friday and images of protesters being pepper-sprayed by police outside a rally in Kansas City on Saturday night. With waves of criticisms against Trump reverberating over the weekend for the role he's played in ginning up tensions, any expectations or hopes that the Republican presidential candidate would make efforts to tamp down the palpable tensions were dashed rather immediately.
"My people have said we oughtta go to his rallies, when liberals and super-liberals, I don't even call 'em liberals... These people are bad people that are looking to do harm to our country." --Donald Trump
In fact, the near opposite happened as Trump refused to accept any responsibility for the acrimony, defending the behavior of his supporters, and projecting blame on others by accusing the Sanders of "organizing" the protests.
At a rally in Cleveland on Saturday, Trump charged that Friday's protests in Chicago were directed by the Sanders' campaign, an assertion the Sanders' camp immediately denied and which no evidence exists to support.
"As is the case virtually every day, Donald Trump is showing the American people that he is a pathological liar," Sanders said in a statement on Saturday. Though it was clear that many protesters in Chicago were, in fact, vocal Sanders' supporters, far more appeared only unified by their opposition to Trump's political message and campaign rhetoric.
"I don't think our supporters are inciting. What our supporters are doing is responding to a candidate who has, in fact, in many ways, encouraged violence," Sanders said during a Saturday press conference in Chicago."When he talks about: 'I wish we were in the old days when you could punch somebody in the head.' What do you think that says to his supporters?"
Appearing on CNN's State of the Union with Jake Tapper on Sunday morning, Trump said that he is quite serious about issuing orders so that his supporters would go and confront people at Sanders' rallies.
"When[Trump] talks about: 'I wish we were in the old days when you could punch somebody in the head.' What do you think that says to his supporters?" --Bernie Sanders"It's not a threat, it's not a threat. It's not a threat at all!" Trump declared when asked by Tapper about the tweeted message. "My people have said we ought to go to his rallies, when liberals and super-liberals, I don't even call 'em liberals... These people are bad people that are looking to do harm to our country. These people come into mine ... They're being arrested and all sorts of things are happening to them. There's a horrible thing going on in the media. We are treated so unfairly, and I'm treated so unfairly."
Watch:
And here's the segment with Sanders speaking on CNN:
Separately on Saturday, Trump said he is now considering pressing charges against those who would protest or disrupt his events in the future. "I hope they arrest these people, because honestly they should be," Trump told supporters referring to a new wave of protesters at the rally in Kansas City on Saturday night. "The only way to stop the craziness is to press charges."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Donald Trump on Sunday morning went after potential general election rival Bernie Sanders by calling him a liar and indicated he might soon instruct his own supporters to attend Sanders' rallies in order to foment disruption and discord among his progressive (aka "super-liberal") base.
In a tweet, Trump declared:
The social media salvo followed a chaotic cancellation of Trump rally in Chicago that turned violent on Friday and images of protesters being pepper-sprayed by police outside a rally in Kansas City on Saturday night. With waves of criticisms against Trump reverberating over the weekend for the role he's played in ginning up tensions, any expectations or hopes that the Republican presidential candidate would make efforts to tamp down the palpable tensions were dashed rather immediately.
"My people have said we oughtta go to his rallies, when liberals and super-liberals, I don't even call 'em liberals... These people are bad people that are looking to do harm to our country." --Donald Trump
In fact, the near opposite happened as Trump refused to accept any responsibility for the acrimony, defending the behavior of his supporters, and projecting blame on others by accusing the Sanders of "organizing" the protests.
At a rally in Cleveland on Saturday, Trump charged that Friday's protests in Chicago were directed by the Sanders' campaign, an assertion the Sanders' camp immediately denied and which no evidence exists to support.
"As is the case virtually every day, Donald Trump is showing the American people that he is a pathological liar," Sanders said in a statement on Saturday. Though it was clear that many protesters in Chicago were, in fact, vocal Sanders' supporters, far more appeared only unified by their opposition to Trump's political message and campaign rhetoric.
"I don't think our supporters are inciting. What our supporters are doing is responding to a candidate who has, in fact, in many ways, encouraged violence," Sanders said during a Saturday press conference in Chicago."When he talks about: 'I wish we were in the old days when you could punch somebody in the head.' What do you think that says to his supporters?"
Appearing on CNN's State of the Union with Jake Tapper on Sunday morning, Trump said that he is quite serious about issuing orders so that his supporters would go and confront people at Sanders' rallies.
"When[Trump] talks about: 'I wish we were in the old days when you could punch somebody in the head.' What do you think that says to his supporters?" --Bernie Sanders"It's not a threat, it's not a threat. It's not a threat at all!" Trump declared when asked by Tapper about the tweeted message. "My people have said we ought to go to his rallies, when liberals and super-liberals, I don't even call 'em liberals... These people are bad people that are looking to do harm to our country. These people come into mine ... They're being arrested and all sorts of things are happening to them. There's a horrible thing going on in the media. We are treated so unfairly, and I'm treated so unfairly."
Watch:
And here's the segment with Sanders speaking on CNN:
Separately on Saturday, Trump said he is now considering pressing charges against those who would protest or disrupt his events in the future. "I hope they arrest these people, because honestly they should be," Trump told supporters referring to a new wave of protesters at the rally in Kansas City on Saturday night. "The only way to stop the craziness is to press charges."
Donald Trump on Sunday morning went after potential general election rival Bernie Sanders by calling him a liar and indicated he might soon instruct his own supporters to attend Sanders' rallies in order to foment disruption and discord among his progressive (aka "super-liberal") base.
In a tweet, Trump declared:
The social media salvo followed a chaotic cancellation of Trump rally in Chicago that turned violent on Friday and images of protesters being pepper-sprayed by police outside a rally in Kansas City on Saturday night. With waves of criticisms against Trump reverberating over the weekend for the role he's played in ginning up tensions, any expectations or hopes that the Republican presidential candidate would make efforts to tamp down the palpable tensions were dashed rather immediately.
"My people have said we oughtta go to his rallies, when liberals and super-liberals, I don't even call 'em liberals... These people are bad people that are looking to do harm to our country." --Donald Trump
In fact, the near opposite happened as Trump refused to accept any responsibility for the acrimony, defending the behavior of his supporters, and projecting blame on others by accusing the Sanders of "organizing" the protests.
At a rally in Cleveland on Saturday, Trump charged that Friday's protests in Chicago were directed by the Sanders' campaign, an assertion the Sanders' camp immediately denied and which no evidence exists to support.
"As is the case virtually every day, Donald Trump is showing the American people that he is a pathological liar," Sanders said in a statement on Saturday. Though it was clear that many protesters in Chicago were, in fact, vocal Sanders' supporters, far more appeared only unified by their opposition to Trump's political message and campaign rhetoric.
"I don't think our supporters are inciting. What our supporters are doing is responding to a candidate who has, in fact, in many ways, encouraged violence," Sanders said during a Saturday press conference in Chicago."When he talks about: 'I wish we were in the old days when you could punch somebody in the head.' What do you think that says to his supporters?"
Appearing on CNN's State of the Union with Jake Tapper on Sunday morning, Trump said that he is quite serious about issuing orders so that his supporters would go and confront people at Sanders' rallies.
"When[Trump] talks about: 'I wish we were in the old days when you could punch somebody in the head.' What do you think that says to his supporters?" --Bernie Sanders"It's not a threat, it's not a threat. It's not a threat at all!" Trump declared when asked by Tapper about the tweeted message. "My people have said we ought to go to his rallies, when liberals and super-liberals, I don't even call 'em liberals... These people are bad people that are looking to do harm to our country. These people come into mine ... They're being arrested and all sorts of things are happening to them. There's a horrible thing going on in the media. We are treated so unfairly, and I'm treated so unfairly."
Watch:
And here's the segment with Sanders speaking on CNN:
Separately on Saturday, Trump said he is now considering pressing charges against those who would protest or disrupt his events in the future. "I hope they arrest these people, because honestly they should be," Trump told supporters referring to a new wave of protesters at the rally in Kansas City on Saturday night. "The only way to stop the craziness is to press charges."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.