Representative James Clyburn (D-SC) said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that former President Donald Trump was closely tied to the June 17, 2015 deadly mass shooting at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, SC.
Anchor Jake Tapper said, “Let’s start with President Biden’s trip to tomorrow to historic Mother Emanuel church. What are you hoping to hear from President Biden and is it fair to tie in any way what happened at the Emanuel AME church to Donald Trump? Donald Trump had barely launched his campaign when that attack happened.”
Clyburn said, “I think it is very clear that Donald Trump’s utterances way back before Charlottesville or at the time of Charlottesville tied him to what happened at Mother Emanuel. The fact of the matter is that young man went into that church’s basement and joined with their worshipers in bible study and murdered them. And he said at the time that he was attempting to create a race war. But the people of South Carolina, the families of the affected victims, all came together to get beyond hate and reach out to help continue this pursuit of a more perfect union.”
He added, “Donald Trump looked at those people in Charlottesville and said there were good people on both sides. Those people were uttering things like Jews will not replace us. That is a religion. The AME church, that is religion. And Donald Trump has said things in support of those activities that ties him closely to what happened at Mother Emanuel.”
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