What kind of president makes up “riots” in his own country?
At a campaign rally in Nevada, President Donald Trump claimed Californians are “rioting” against “sanctuary cities” — a statement yet to be supported by evidence.
After deriding Rep. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) on her immigration policies at a rally in Elko, Trump told the crowd he thought Nevadans didn’t care for sanctuary cities, and that Californians didn’t like them either. Trump spoke in support of Sen. Dean Heller, Rosen’s Republican opponent in the upcoming midterm election.
“They’re rioting now,” Trump said of Californians. “They want to get out of their sanctuary cities.”
In context, “they” referred to Golden State residents who agree with the White House on so-called “sanctuary cities.”
In other words, after weeks of Trump rhetoric about dangerous Democratic “mobs,” the president believes it’s his supporters who’ve taken to the streets, violently lashing out at communities in California that disagree with the White House about immigration.
In reality, of course, the riots don’t exist. The debate over so-called “sanctuary cities” is real, but enraged conservatives rioting in California appear to be limited to the president’s imagination.
As spokesperson for California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) told the Toronto Star‘s Daniel Dale, “Trump and truth have long had a troubled relationship. These comments, frankly, don’t merit a response.”
All of this comes six months after the president said via Twitter, “There is a Revolution going on in California. Soooo many Sanctuary areas want OUT of this ridiculous, crime infested & breeding concept. Jerry Brown is trying to back out of the National Guard at the Border, but the people of the State are not happy. Want Security & Safety NOW!”
There’s no “revolution” underway in California, either.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."