Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) came to President Donald Trump’s defense Friday, saying that the President’s miming Rep. Greg Gianforte’s (R-MT) assault of Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs to laughter at a campaign rally was “clearly a joke.”
President Trump was clearly ribbing Congressman Gianforte for last year’s incident, which he apologized for last year. It’s obvious he was not encouraging his supporters to engage in attacks, and not one person harassed the numerous media reporters who were present.
— Rep. Steve Scalise (@SteveScalise) October 19, 2018
It’s irresponsible for the mainstream media to create a false equivalence between this and Democrat leaders in Washington regularly using threatening rhetoric to call on their supporters to harass Trump officials, supporters, and Republican members and candidates.
— Rep. Steve Scalise (@SteveScalise) October 19, 2018
I find it disingenuous when some in the media refuse to report or call out actual violence by leftist protestors, yet they’ll whip into a hysterical frenzy over what clearly was a joke at a rally. This is about which party has the best ideas, not which party has the most bullies.
— Rep. Steve Scalise (@SteveScalise) October 19, 2018
At the rally, Trump praised Gianforte, calling him “my guy,” despite the fact that the congressman pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault charges after the attack.
Yes, it was a joke. A sick, twisted perverted joke. And it encouraged violence much more than Democrats saying to fight back.
No joke. No joke. You’re the joke.
Trump is the joke . . .a very sick one.
You must think this one’s a real riot, then:
I wonder how jocular Scalise would be about a joke in which shooting him is the punchline. Har-har, Steve!