Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois said there was a double standard with Saturday’s San Diego synagogue shooting, and asked what would have happened if the shooter had been Middle Eastern.
The shooting took place at San Diego’s Chabad of Poway synagogue. At least three victims were injured, and one is dead, according to police.
Durbin said the backlash would have been greater had the shooter been an immigrant or of Middle Eastern descent.
“This is domestic terrorism. Let’s call it for what it is,” he said Monday on CNN’s “New Day.” “Had there been someone from the Middle East involved in this, someone with a green card involved in this, can you imagine the alerts that would have come out from the White House about the threats of terrorism to the United States? And yet this president does just the opposite. With a wink and a nod he says to these nationalists and supremacists, ‘I know they’re just trying to protect the statues of Robert E. Lee.’”
Durbin also blamed the White House for spreading hateful rhetoric and claimed their actions triggered the shooter.
“Why do these people feel they have license now to attack synagogues, to attack Sikh temples, to attack churches across the United States?” he asked. “This has really been fomented because of rhetoric that we’re hearing from the White House.”
You can Follow Nick on TwitterClick here for reuse options!
Copyright 2019 Daily Caller News Foundation
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact [email protected].