WATCH: Rick Santorum Admits Trump ‘Doesn’t Like’ to ‘Say Something Bad’ About White Supremacists
During CNN’s coverage after a rowdy and raucous debate between President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in which Trump was repeatedly challenged to denounce white supremacists, Rick Santorum responded to the exchange by framing it as Trump being someone who doesn’t like “to say something bad” about people who support him — including those white supremacists.
As Mediaite covered earlier, Trump was pressed by both Biden and debate moderator Chris Wallace to condemn white supremacists and right-wing militias, but never quite got there, saying that he was “willing” to do so and when Biden specifically named the Proud Boys, a white supremacist group with a history of violent altercations, Trump’s response was to say, “Proud Boys — stand back and stand by,” and then resuming attacking left wing groups.
“I just think it’s such a low moment in American presidential history that you see an incumbent President of the United States bullying his opponent, behaving in a shameful way,” said CNN’s Gloria Borger, “and declining to say how he felt about white supremacy. I mean, give me a break. And then declining — he was asked specifically, ‘Would you tell your supporters not to be violent after this election?’ And he declined to do that.”
“Yeah, I would say the Democrats owe a lot to Chris Wallace,” responded Santorum. “Because Chris Wallace asked those two questions, not Joe Biden. It was Chris Wallace who asked those two questions. And he asked them for a reason. Because he asked two questions where he was asking the president to do something that he knows the president doesn’t like to do.”
“Which is?” asked Borger.
“Which is, say something bad about people who support him,” replied Santorum. “Right?”
“What, declining violence?” asked an incredulous Borger.
“Well, talking about –” said Santorum.
“The white supremacists?” asked David Axelrod, nearly simultaneously with Borger asking, “White supremacy?”
“Well, yeah, the white supremacists,” Santorum agreed.
Watch the video above, via CNN.
