Conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh accused the liberal mainstream media of radicalizing James Hodgkinson, the man suspected of shooting House Majority Whip Steve Scalise and four others on Wednesday.
Hodgkinson later died after being shot by police during a gun battle in Alexandria, Va., where Republican lawmakers were practicing for a charity baseball game.
Limbaugh pointed out Hodgkinson had made it very clear that he hated President Donald Trump.
"I have been worried for quite a while about the cumulative effect or impact of this constant anti-Trump hysteria everywhere in mainstream media: New York Times, Washington Post, LA Times, CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, NBC," Limbaugh told listeners.
"It's hysteria. It's lies. It's things that are completely manufactured about Trump personally, about Trump and Russia, about climate change, about any number of things.
"I have been very concerned about what all of this is doing to the average, base Democrat voter. I have sensed them getting more and more fringe and imbalanced, and the evidence for it is everywhere in the things that they tweet. They openly promote violence, and advocate some of the most despicable things happening to their political enemies.
"The hatred is raw, it is undiluted, it's just savage. These are the mainstream of the Democrat base, and I don't have any doubt that they are being radicalized."
Limbaugh noted Hodgkinson's favorites on television included "Comedy Central, Bill Maher and left-wing comedians."
And he added: "Rachel Maddow was his all-time favorite. He thought she should run for president. These people have radicalized guys like this all over this country"
He noted the shooter was convinced Trump should be removed from office.
"So the shooter was acting on the fake news, the big lie, that Trump had colluded with Putin," Limbaugh said.
"This guy believed everything he heard. This guy soaked it up and believed everything and thought Trump should be sent packing along with the Republicans. The Democrat base voter who shot up the Republican Congress…in Virginia, he was a mainstream Democrat voter."
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