Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh on Sunday said that “grievance” over the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner has been exaggerated.
He lamented that the protests over the grand juries’ decisions not to indict police officers in either case are just making things worse.
“I think that there is a grievance politics in this country, that’s tearing the country apart,” Limbaugh said on “Fox News Sunday.” “It is literally ripping our fabric apart.”
Limbaugh said the jury made the right call in Ferguson, and added that protests would have occurred no matter what. He said that President Obama needs to step in to promote peace.
“The President of the United States, one thing about him — he’s a great orator. You put the right words on the teleprompter and this man can deliver soaring, inspiring rhetoric,” Limbaugh said. “I think it’s called for in this situation.”
The radio host then launched into a rant about how unwarranted he feels the protests are.
“This is not good for the country, what’s happening here, because it isn’t, I don’t think, full-fledged legitimate. It’s not based on real-world grievance. It’s grievance that’s being amplified and made up,” he said. “And the president, if you ask me, could do a lot to stop this by telling people to respect the criminal justice system.”
Though he asked Obama to step in to promote peace, Limbaugh also said that racism has gotten worse during Obama’s presidency.
“And one of the reasons why: no criticism, legitimate criticism, of the president is permitted because he’s African-American, and it’s all chalked up to racism,” he said.
Limbaugh also claimed that police did not actually put Garner in a chokehold, and that none of it would have happened if there wasn’t such a high tax on cigarettes.
“I think the real outrage here is that an American died while the state is enforcing tax collection on cigarettes. This is just absurd,” he said, adding that the “left” wanted a powerful government.
“If you want a powerful state, here’s your police force,” he said.