The presidential campaign of Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) is demanding that President Donald Trump cancel a planned rally in Manchester next week, and all future rallies nationwide, stating that his rallies are a “breeding ground for racism and bigotry that inspire white nationalist attacks.”
In a statement, Erin Turmelle, the New Hampshire state chair for Booker’s campaign, declared:
Two days before Cory Booker returns to New Hampshire, [President] Donald Trump is planning to hold a rally in Manchester. As we’ve seen repeatedly over the last few years, these rallies serve as a breeding ground for racism and bigotry that inspire white nationalist attacks like the one in El Paso on Saturday. They are despicable and have no place in New Hampshire, or anywhere in our country. That is why Trump must cancel this rally.
Instead, Trump should call on Congress to take meaningful action on gun legislation. If he needs ideas, Cory Booker has the boldest plan of anyone to address gun violence, including by creating a federal licensing program that evidence shows is highly effective. But he could start with the background checks passed by House Democrats in February.
What’s overwhelmingly clear is that Trump coming to New Hampshire will only stoke further dangerous acts and threaten America’s safety. Our country deserves better in the Oval Office.
Turmell also tweeted:
The call to cancel Trump’s rallies was predicted by conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh on Monday: “You watch, somebody’s gonna suggest Trump’s rallies not be allowed to happen now because that’s where all this is coming from,” Limbaugh said. “Never mind the fact that if you look at the manifesto of the shooter in Dayton you find a total deranged leftist progressive. But I don’t even want to use that.”
In the 2016 campaign, left-wing rioters forced the cancellation of a Trump rally in Chicago. The “protest,” as it was called by the mainstream media, threatened the safety of those in attendance.
Democrats were also caught deliberately instigating violence at Trump rallies and other Republican events in the 2015-16 campaign. James O’Keefe of Project Veritas caught Democratic operatives admitting to the practice of “bird-dogging” on hidden camera. The goal was to create an impression of anarchy around then-candidate Trump that would erode his political support.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He earned an A.B. in Social Studies and Environmental Science and Public Policy from Harvard College, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. He is also the co-author of How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, which is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.