Clinton allies publish 'interactive map of Trump-inspired violence

An e-mail from the Center for American Progress (CAP) to Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta reveals how the think tank pushed the narrative that Trump was encouraging violence at his rallies, even as political operatives on the campaign’s payroll were secretly hiring and encouraging activists to foment it.

The e-mail to Podesta, released by Wikileaks, is entitled “How Trump has inspired violence across the country, in one interactive map.” The interactive map itself contains links to dozens of stories of incidents that have occurred surrounding Trump rallies, ranging from name-calling to out-and-out violence, all relentlessly blamed on Trump.

Clicking on “California,” for example, what comes up is:

Trump-Fueled Violence Continues As Protests In San Jose Turn Bloody

6/3/2016

Protesters attacked Trump supporters with punches, name calling, and egg throwing at Trump's San Jose rally. …

While prominent Democrats were quick to condemn the incident, they also put some of the blame on Trump, who has continued to incite violence at his campaign events even as situations escalate. Just last week, hundreds of protesters threw items at the police during a rally in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The protesters attempted to storm through barricades and glass doors to enter the arena where Trump spoke. And in the heavily-Latino city of Costa Mesa, California, protesters blocked traffic and yelled “racists go home” outside of Trump’s rally.

Yet Trump still refuses to condemn the violence or admit that he plays a part in it. After a rally in Chicago was canceled due to safety concerns, Trump told CNN “I certainly don’t incite violence.”

The original article releasing the interactive map was posted on Center for American Progress’s blog, called ThinkProgress.

Written by the organization’s political reporter, Kira Lerner, it begins with the now-familiar charge: “The violence at Donald Trump campaign events is attracting more and more attention as attacks on protesters have escalated over the past month. Yet the Republican nominee has steadfastly refused to condemn his supporters’ actions.”

John Podesta was the founding president and CEO of the Center for American Progress. He is still closely connected with it, to judge from the heavy e-mail traffic that flows back and forth between the campaign and the left-leaning think tank.

Podesta has, of course, publicly decried the violence on more than one occasion. In the aftermath of the San Jose attack on Trump supporters, for example, he immediately weighed in, saying on Twitter that “violence against supporters of any candidate has no place in this election.”

Given the fact that two employees affiliated with the campaign were fired following the Project Veritas revelations of their seeming complicity in organizing and encouraging the violence, Podesta’s protests ring rather hollow.

The Center for American Progress refers to the interactive map as “Trump’s Hate Map.”

Give what we now know, it would be more accurate to call it “Clinton’s Hate Map.”

After all, it was bought and paid for by her peeps. Or should we say perps.

Steven W. Mosher is the President of the Population Research Institute, a former Commissioner of the Commission on Broadcasting to the PRC, and the author of the forthcoming, The Bully of Asia.

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