One of the candidates in the crowded field of Democrats running for president accused President Donald Trump Sunday morning of playing an indirect role in the deadly attack on Muslims in New Zealand this week.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., was on CNN's "State of the Union" and was asked about the shootings at two mosques in Christchurch that resulted in 49 deaths and dozens of injuries.
"I don't think you can actually take each of the murderous acts and say what role Donald Trump played, but I can tell you this: his rhetoric doesn't help, and many of these people, whether it was the person who tried to bomb Barack Obama or this murder in New Zealand, have cited Donald Trump along the way," Klobuchar said.
"So to me, that means at the very least, he is dividing people. They are using him as an excuse. And he, at the very least, should be giving strong statements, public speeches defending Muslims in this world because I can tell you having the biggest Somali population in the United States of America [in Minnesota], I know they get hit all the time. And one of our jobs as a leader is to stand up, whether people are Jewish, whether they're Muslim, no matter how they worship or what they look like, we have to remember that they are all part of a country of shared dreams."
The accused New Zealand shooter, who was arrested after the attacks occurred Friday afternoon local time, was charged with murder. He posted a lengthy manifesto before the attack, claiming to be a white supremacist who hated immigrants and who was out to avenge terror attacks in Europe perpetrated by Muslims.
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