Tapper: Elected officials, TV anchors creating a ‘permission structure’ for political violence
CNN anchor Jake Tapper said some elected officials and TV anchors are to blame for creating a “permission structure” that has opened the door for political violence, after news broke that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) husband was attacked in the couple’s home on Friday.
“There are people in mainstream accepted society – elected officials, TV anchors, others – who have been creating a permission structure that is helping to open the door to this violence,” Tapper said on Friday night.
“This horrifying act of violence today, I wish I could tell you it’s an outlier,” he added. “It’s not. It is the inevitable product of a poisonous political climate where unchecked lies and hate-filled dehumanizing rhetoric combine to create a perfect storm of political violence.”
Paul Pelosi, the speaker’s husband, was violently assaulted in the couple’s San Francisco home early Friday morning, when a man broke in and shouted,“Where is Nancy?”
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President Biden on Friday night suggested that the violence against Pelosi was tied to Republican talk of stolen elections.
“What makes us think that one party can talk about stolen elections, COVID being a hoax, that it’s all a bunch of lies, and it not affect people who may not be so well balanced,” Biden said. “What makes us think that it’s not going to corrode the political climate?”
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“As much as Donald Trump is part of the problem here, you need to know these threats and horrific acts are not only from the right,” Tapper said.
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Tapper: Elected officials, TV anchors creating a "permission structure" for political violence https://t.co/87TzdhndwN pic.twitter.com/s9sSHb3Z7I
— The Hill (@thehill) October 29, 2022
How about: “I’m sorry that I let politics overtake my humanity. I apologize to the Speaker and her husband, and I wish both of them well.” That’s what a human being would want to say. So why not? https://t.co/QUtyh6tG0B
— Jim Newton (@newton_jim) October 29, 2022
Nice to be able to agree with Andy today. https://t.co/bsIMTpxXbz
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) October 29, 2022
Chilling.
It is way past time to tone down political rhetoric. You tell enough people that their political opponents are pure evil, that they'll destroy the country, and you will radicalize people, and some of those radicals will take action. https://t.co/dK1Qa2tVIT
— David French (@DavidAFrench) October 28, 2022
Well said. https://t.co/E2lW16nSO9
— David French (@DavidAFrench) October 29, 2022
Political violence is always bad. Political violence is never acceptable. Scalise, Giffords, Kavanaugh, Pelosi, Zeldin, riots, insurrections. All bad. No justification. This is not hard, you guys.
— Shannon Last (@shannon_last) October 29, 2022
Heartfelt wishes for healing and recovery for Paul Pelosi and for the comforting of his anxious wife, Speaker Pelosi.
— Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) October 28, 2022
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