In the immediate aftermath of the massacre at a church in Charleston, S.C. on Wednesday evening, many politicians have sought to politicize the horror by blaming the sick act on guns or even Fox News. Perhaps, the strangest deflection came from former secretary of state and candidate for the Democratic Party nomination for president Hillary Clinton. After suggesting the incident should spur a national conversation about hate, she proceeded to imply that that Donald Trump was partly culpable for the tragedy.
Interviewed by Nevada radio host Jon Ralston on Thursday, Ms. Clinton was asked what she, as president, could do to prevent shootings such as the one in Charleston. (see video below)
“We have to have a candid national conversation about race, and about discrimination, prejudice, hatred. The people who do this kind of dastardly, horrible act are a very small percentage. But unfortunately public discourse is sometimes hotter and more negative than it should be, which can, in my opinion, trigger people who is less than stable to do something like this."
The presumptive Democratic Party candidate then used the Charleston horror to launch a political attack by bringing up something Donald Trump said during his announcement speech:
“I think we have to speak out against it. Like, for example, a recent entry into the Republican presidential campaign said some very inflammatory things about Mexicans. Everybody should stand up and say that’s not acceptable. You know you don’t talk like that on talk radio. You don't talk like that on the kind of political campaigns. I think he is emblematic. So I want people to understand, it’s not just him, it’s about everybody. The second thing is guns, let’s just cut to the chase – it’s guns.”
Hillary was referring to a section of Donald Trump's speech announcing his candidacy where he spoke about illegal immigration from Mexico:
"When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us, They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people."
On Friday "The Donald" responded to Ms. Clinton with a short 32-word video on his Instagram account. With the caption, "Hillary Clinton reaches new low," Trump's video says:
“Wow! It’s pretty pathetic that Hillary Clinton just blamed me for the horrendous attack that took place in South Carolina. This is why politicians are just no good. Our country’s in trouble.”
Ironically, the day before Hillary Clinton associated Trump with the Charleston massacre, her husband, former President Bill Clinton, was on The Daily Show and spoke fondly about Trump saying, “He has been, believe it or not, uncommonly nice to Hillary and me," and "he’s actually one of the many Republicans who supported our foundation — before they got the memo."
Comparing Bill Clinton's statements to his wife's just twenty-four hours later, it seems that Mrs. Clinton didn't get the memo.