During Wednesday's new media press briefing, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt answered questions about instances of political violence.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Thanks so much for having us in today. And I appreciate the administration making yourself available and making it available to us and all of our followers. And I understand that you're going to be continuing these. I think it's fantastic that really have everybody come in and be able to do this.
00:15One of the things that's been troubling me and has actually even affected me over the last 24 hours is the rise of violence that we've seen from elements of the far left, starting with things like Luigi Maggioni, the support for these unhuman organizations like MS-13, Trendy Aragua, and even, of course, the assassination attempts on President Trump, Thomas Matthew Crooks, and Ryan Routh, as well as numerous incidents against anyone who owns a Tesla, apparently.
00:45You don't really see the Democrats opposing these things. You see them in many cases either co-signing it or giving a wink and nod to it, at the same time that they will be demanding that we follow due process for anyone who actually is a hardened criminal or some of the worst of the worst.
01:03What is the administration doing, DOJ-wise or FBI-wise, to combat this rise in violence that we're seeing?
01:10It's a great question, Jack, and I absolutely agree with the premise of your question, which I usually don't when I take questions at a podium, but certainly you're right.
01:18We have seen a rise in political violence that stems from the left, dating back to the Black Lives Matter movement, which the left and the Democrats don't want to talk about much, but they burned down American cities.
01:29And the Biden administration did nothing to prosecute those who created that violence, oftentimes not just destroying businesses, but also lives and communities as well.
01:40You look at the rise of violence against the president himself and his supporters.
01:44You had two heinous assassination attempts from leftist lunatics, and the president is lucky and blessed to be here today because he was able to survive that political violence in those assassination attempts.
01:57Look at the recent attacks on Tesla, on Elon Musk's company.
02:01It's quite ironic because Democrats and leftists were the greatest fans of Tesla.
02:05Many Democrats drive Teslas to this very day, but then it's their same party who is doing nothing to stop or condemn or discourage this violence from taking place.
02:16And in many cases, Democrat elected officials are actually inciting it and encouraging it.
02:22But that's not going to be allowed to happen anymore.
02:24The attorney general was just in the cabinet room with the president and made it very clear to anyone who is inciting violence or participating in violence, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
02:35And no longer do we have a Justice Department that chooses prosecutions based on one's political affiliation.
02:43If you break the law, you will be held accountable for that.
02:46And I think we are truly restoring a fair and equal justice system in this country.
02:52The attorney general spoke earlier about how there have been several cases brought against those who have perpetrated this political violence against Tesla, which is a great American-made company.
03:02And we need to see more people on the other side of the aisle stepping out to discourage this violence.
03:09But I don't think we will hold our breath.
03:10We won't wait for them.
03:12The president is leading by example.
03:13And I think the restoration of justice we've seen at the DOJ under the leadership of Pam Bondi and Kash Patel, who's doing an incredible job as the FBI director, is a testament to that.