House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff, of California, blasted President Donald Trump on Sunday for “willfully fanning the flames” of violence in the country because “he believes the violence helps him.”
The California Democrat blamed Trump for the clashes that have occurred between some of his supporters and protesters demonstrating against police brutality.
“The president is willfully fanning the flames of this fire,” Schiff said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “They believe this is helpful to him.”’
Schiff added: “The president is only motivated by one thing: what is in it for him. He sees this violence and his ability to agitate more of it as useful to this campaign. What it does to the country, the loss of life, he doesn’t care.”’
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Schiff’s comments come less than 24 hours after one person was shot and killed in Portland, Ore., amid a series of altercations between a large caravan of Trump supporters and Black Lives Matter protesters.
Police said the man was shot in the chest. He was not immediately identified. It’s unclear who shot him.
Portland has been the site of nightly protests for more than three months since George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, died while in the custody of Minneapolis police officers.
Trump has been vocal in his criticism of the protesters and in his support of the caravan, tweeting on Sunday morning “GREAT PATRIOTS” alongside a video or the caravan.
“That is the sad and tragic truth about this and also of Trump’s presidency more generally,” Schiff said, adding that Trump “believes the violence helps him.”
Adam Schiff says Trump is fanning the flames of violence because he thinks it helps his reelection campaign. pic.twitter.com/5b6W1t2iAE
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) August 30, 2020
