Santorum Criticizes Trump’s Gianforte Praise: ‘This Is Not Helpful, It’s Not Good’

UNITED STATES - SEPTEMBER 25: Former Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., testifies during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on the proposal by Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-La., Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, on September 25, 2017. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
UNITED STATES - SEPTEMBER 25: Former Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., testifies during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on the proposal by Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-La., Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., to repeal and replace the... UNITED STATES - SEPTEMBER 25: Former Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., testifies during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on the proposal by Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-La., Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act on September 25, 2017. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call) MORE LESS
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While often an ardent defender of President Trump, former Republican Sen. Rick Santorum (PA) broke with Trump on Friday, and criticized the President for heaping praise on Rep. Greg Gianforte (R-MT) for body slamming a reporter.  

“I don’t think the President should be praising that,” Santorum told CNN on Friday. “Look, I have always been concerned about the President’s language on a lot of these things. I think the — I excuse a lot of that because the President uses a lot of hyperbole when he talks and I always say, ‘Don’t look at what the President says, look at what the President does, but the bottom line is this is not helpful, it’s not good.”

During a rally in Montana on Thursday evening, Trump hyped Gianforte, who pled guilty to assaulting Ben Jacobs, a reporter at The Guardian. The attack occurred on the eve of Gianforte’s election last year, when Jacobs approached him to ask him a question about healthcare.  

“That’s my kind of guy,” Trump told supporters.

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