Recently, 14 pipe bombs were sent to multiple significant people across the nation. Recipients include Barack Obama, Hillary and Bill Clinton, Eric Holder, Maxine Waters, John Brennan, Joe Biden, George Soros, and Robert De Niro and investigators were able to arrest the man that delivered them, Cesar Sayoc. Shortly after his arrest, investigators found that Sayoc’s recent posts on social media suggested he targeted the team because he was inspired by Trump’s actions. 

Every one that received the bombs has been outspoken in their criticism of Trump. Several of the president’s critics have claimed that Trump has demonized all his opponents, especially, Democrats, and as a result, is partly responsible for motivating the bomb maker to take matters into his own hands.  

However, Trump has blamed the media for instigating the violence through “Fake News.” It is a widely known fact that this is not the first time Trump has demonized the press, in fact, it has become a common occurrence. For example, during the 2016 presidential debate Trump said, “I did not support the war in Iraq. That is mainstream media nonsense put out by her,” referring to Hillary Clinton. 

The people who have examined the president’s unprofessional language have already predicted that his words would soon provoke extreme chaos, particularly with midterms last Tuesday.  

Yes, it’s true, it is not possible to directly trace this bomb scandal back to Trump. However, instigating the crime is just as disturbing as actually committing it. The president is famous for referring to facts he doesn’t like to hear as “fake news” and several successful reporters as “enemies of the people.” Furthermore, he condemned his opponents in very personal terms and labeled critics of Brett Kavanaugh, whom he has recently appointed into the Supreme Court as “evil.”  

Trump has a history of degrading democrats; a couple of the most noteworthy lines were said during his recent campaign rally in Montana. He claimed, “A vote for the Democrats in November is a vote to let MS-13 run wild in our communities.” To me and many others, this quote seems a bit over the top. Trump knows that Democrats do not want an outbreak of violence but, the image this line creates terrifies people and he thrives off that fear in his career. He also said, “Democrats want anarchy, they really do, and they don’t know who they’re playing with, folks.” The part that really stands out to me is Trump saying, “they don’t know who they’re messing with.” This quote is simply dangerous and promotes war hate between the parties. After hearing spiteful words like these over and over again, it’s no wonder why Cesar Sayoc would target Democrats too. In response to the result of Trump’s unethical behavior, Paul Achter, a professor at the University of Richmond, stated, “Words create a context for violence where violence becomes more likely.” 

John Brennan, a former director of the CIA, left Trump speechless after he confronted the president and told him to stop blaming others for his actions and to look in the mirror. 

“Your inflammatory rhetoric, insults, lies, & encouragement of physical violence are disgraceful. Clean up your act…. try to act Presidential. The American people deserve much better. BTW, your critics will not be intimidated into silence,” Brennan tweeted. 

It’s not a surprise that Trump combated him with name-calling. Claiming he made mistakes during his time at the CIA, Trump called him a “loudmouth, partisan, political hack.” However, Trump failed to report what his mistakes were.