The Democratic and Republican presidential candidates had strikingly different responses to a Saturday night firebombing at local Republican Party office in North Carolina.
Hours after authorities announced that a bottle filled with flammable liquid destroyed the Orange County GOP’s headquarters, Hillary Clinton sent a tweet calling the incident “horrific and unacceptable.” The former secretary of state expressed relief that no one was injured in the overnight attack.
The attack on the Orange County HQ @NCGOP office is horrific and unacceptable. Very grateful that everyone is safe.
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) October 16, 2016
Donald Trump’s answer came later, and struck a different tone. Though the perpetrators have not yet been identified, the real estate mogul blamed “animals representing Hillary Clinton and Dems” who he said burned the office “because we are winning.”
Animals representing Hillary Clinton and Dems in North Carolina just firebombed our office in Orange County because we are winning @NCGOP
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 16, 2016
Graffiti reading “Nazi Republicans leave town or else” was scrawled on the building’s exterior.
Clinton is currently leading Trump 46.2 to 42.8 percent in the Tar Heel State, according to TPM’s PollTracker Average.
