Adam Schiff Slams Trump ‘Fanning the Flames’ of Unrest: ‘He Doesn’t Care’ About Loss of Life, But ‘He Believes the Violence Helps Him’
House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) accused President Donald Trump of fueling social unrest throughout the country in order to improve his political chances.
In an interview on Sunday with CNN’s Dana Bash, Schiff condemned the news that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence will only provide written reports to Congress about election security and foreign interference, and will no longer provide in-person briefings about them. Schiff used much of his time to warn that Russia is once again trying to meddle with America’s political institutions, and Trump “doesn’t want the American people to know about it.”
Bash eventually turned to the fatal shooting of a man in Portland after multiple clashes on Saturday between Trump supporters and Black Lives Matter protesters. The shooting follows recent violence and riots in Kenosha, so Bash asked “do you have any reason to believe that Russia is trying to fuel some of the civil unrest in these cities via social media or other methods?”
Schiff began by condemning the violence, but he also ripped Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) for squirming on whether he condemns Kyle Rittenhouse’s vigilantism. Schiff went on to insist that Russia is trying to use the recent unrest to enflame tensions throughout the country, and “the president is willfully fanning the flames of this violence.”
“They believe the violence is helpful to them. and the president is only motivated by one thing: what is in it for him?” Schiff said. “He sees this violence — and his ability to agitate more of it — as useful to his campaign. What it does to the country, the loss of life, he doesn’t care.”
Schiff concluded by saying that Trump’s threat to send federal law enforcement to put an end to the protests is an effort to further aggravate unrest.
“He will stoke it through his social media, where he can, because he believes the violence helps him,” Schiff said. “That is the sad and tragic truth about this, but also about the Trump presidency more generally.”
Watch above, via CNN.
