Monday on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports,” Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) said Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump needs to tone down his rhetoric that is “playing to the worst fears and prejudices” because he could cause a lone wolf in America to commit an act of terrorism.
Andrea Mitchell said, “Donald Trump saying that mosques should be under surveillance, that we should re-institute waterboarding, that Syrian refugees are suspect, that there should be some database, he wouldn’t rule out a central database for Muslims. Also talking about this completely discredited report that there were thousands, thousands of people in Jersey City—Muslims is what he’s suggesting—cheering after the World Trade Centers came down—that he saw this on television. No one has been able to verify this as far as we can tell and going over our own materials, it did not happen.”
Warner said, “I think these are extraordinarily irresponsible comments. One of the things that we have been, for the most part in this country, very lucky that we have not seen domestic radicalization. But it has been pointed out, the challenge we face is not only the potential of someone coming into the country. I think one of the biggest vulnerabilities is the so-called visa waver program where people with European passports can enter. But there’s also the challenge of the lone wolf, somebody could be sitting in that basement and getting radicalized. To hear these comments from Mr. Trump without any kind of factual basis and really playing to the worst fears and prejudices, that could actually lead to, I think, activities of somebody sitting in one of those basements saying if that’s America, I’m going to strike out against it. God willing, that won’t happen, but I think he and some of these other candidates need to tone that rhetoric down.”
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