The Christchurch Question - How Culpable Is Our President?

According to MSNBC, the man who allegedly killed 50 people last week at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, described President Donald Trump as, "a symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose."

Subject: President Trump at White House garden podium | Photographer: White House Photographic Office |As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image is in the public domain.

Liberal pundits have been quick to point to this quote to lay partial blame for the tragedy at Trump’s feet. As much as I dislike Trump, I wrestled with this idea for a few days.

On March 30, 1981, President Ronald Reagan and three others were shot and wounded by John Hinckley Jr. Hinckley had shot the president in order to impress actress Jodie Foster. My initial reaction was that it’s as unfair to blame the president for the Christchurch massacre as it would be to blame Jodie Foster for Hinckley’s actions.

Yet, upon reflection, I realized there was a flaw to my comparison. Jodie Foster made no statement, gave no indication, and wrote no essay stating she would be impressed by the assassination of President Ronald Reagan. On the other hand, President Donald Trump has made several statements condoning racist attitudes and behavior toward Muslims.

*March 9, 2016: On CNN, Trump said: “I think Islam hates us. There’s something there that — there’s a tremendous hatred there. There’s a tremendous hatred. We have to get to the bottom of it. There’s an unbelievable hatred of us.”

*Aug. 18, 2016: During a rally in North Carolina, Trump said that “all applicants for immigration will be vetted for ties to radical ideology, and we will screen out anyone who doesn't share our values and love our people.”

*Sept. 19, 2016: At a rally in Florida, Trump reacted to explosions over the weekend in New York and New Jersey and said: “There have been Islamic terrorist attacks in Minnesota and New York City and in New Jersey. These attacks and many others were made possible because of our extremely open immigration system, which fails to properly vet and screen the individuals and families coming into our country. Got to be careful.”

*Jan. 27, 2017: Within a week of becoming president, Trump signed an executive order blocking Syrian refugees and banning citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States for 90 days. This order went into effect immediately, prompting mass chaos at airports, protests and legal challenges.

There are numerous other examples of President Donald Trump making racist anti-Muslim statements (click the footnote below for a more comprehensive list). Did President Trump tell Brenton Tarrant to kill 50 Muslims in Christchurch, New Zealand and film himself doing it? No, of course not.

Yet, like it or lump it, Donald Trump is a world leader. His words and deeds set a tone for people to follow. That’s what it means to be “a leader.” Yes, in the end Mr. Tarrant was 100% responsible for his actions; we all are. But, we’ll never know to what degree Trump's words may have set the stage for the brutal act.

*The Washington Post - May 06, 2017