The four remaining Republican presidential contenders were determined to stay out of the gutter last night, refusing to attack front-runner Donald Trump any time the moderators tried to get some confrontation going. By doing so, they missed the opportunity to condemn Trump on solid ground—for doing nothing to stop the violence at his rallies. Ted Cruz even went so far as to blame it on President Obama:
Tapper told Cruz, Rubio and Kasich that Trump has repeatedly encouraged violence against protesters. On Feb. 23, Tapper noted, Trump said he'd "like to punch" a protester "in the face." On Feb. 27, Tapper added, Trump said that "In the good ol' days, they'd have knocked him out of seat so fast," referring to a protester, adding, "Knock the crap out of them. Knock the hell. I promise you I will pay for the legal fees, I promise, I promise."
"Are you concerned at all that these kind of scenes potentially hurt the Republican party for the general election?" Tapper asked Cruz.
Cruz deflected the question, instead blaming President Barack Obama. "You know, we've seen for seven years a president who believes he's above the law, who behaves as an emperor, and he forgot he's working for the American people," Cruz said. "Turn the camera around here. How many of y'all feel disrespected by Washington?" Then he criticized Trump—not for the violence, but for asking people at his rallies to raise their hands and promise to vote.
Kasich also deflected the question to "anger" in the electorate, saying he was concerned by violence everywhere, as did Rubio. Then Rubio twisted it into an oblique condemnation of Black Lives Matter when he added that "the first people facing that violence are our law enforcement officers and they deserve our respect and our thanks for everything they do for us." Trump himself refused to take any responsibility. "When they see what's going on in this country, they have anger that's unbelievable. They love this country," he said of his supporters. It was the protesters, he justified. "We have some protesters who are bad dudes, they have done bad things," he said. Actually, he lied. So far there is no evidence from any of his rallies that protesters ever instigated the violence.
So, good to know. Every Republican running for president is absolutely fine with Trump inciting violence at his rallies, and absolutely fine with the violence that ensues.
