Rubio Campaign Press Release - Rubio: Donald Trump Needs to Accept Some Responsibility for His Rhetoric

Marco on Protests at Trump Rally in Chicago: This Is a Disturbing Moment, and Trump Isn't Blameless

March 12, 2016

Marco reacted Friday night to news that protests had forced the cancellation of a Trump rally in Chicago.

The first point, of course, Marco said, is that we should be grateful to the police who are keeping people safe tonight.

And in Chicago, of course, this kind of organized disruption is not really a surprise.

But "no one here is blameless," he said, including Donald Trump:

I wouldn't say Mr. Trump is responsible for the events of tonight, but he most certainly in other events has in the past used some pretty rough language and encouraging the crowd, saying things like, "in the good old days we used to beat these people up, or I'll pay your legal bill if you rough them up." So I think he bears some responsibility for the general tone for the things happening.

As far as what's happening tonight, clearly this is an orchestrated effort by people who some of them are probably being paid to do this. I think it is sad all the way around. To see these images. Clearly, there's some level of ethnic and racial divide in how this is playing out on television.

I just think it reflects very poorly on our country. I think it's sad all the way around tonight, I really do. I'm very sad for our country.

Trump needs to recognize his rhetoric can have consequences, Marco said:

Donald Trump has a big platform right now, he's the front runner in the Republican Party, everybody is paying attention to what he's saying and these are words have consequences, when you're president even more so.

Again, I want to be clear, I am not telling you what happened there tonight is something I blame him for because I will tell you that those people that are there are professional protesters in an array of different interest groups. I guarantee you some of these people are being paid to do this and you can see it just in the interviews afterwards as well.

But I am saying he does bear responsibility for some of the other things that have happened at his events, including people being punched in the face, allegedly a reporter also being roughed up the other day. I think there's blame to go around here and I think it reflects – we are entering a kind of very disturbing moment in our political discourse in this country that is reaching a boiling point that I believe has very significant repercussions, not just for this election, but for the future of this country.

We are being ripped apart at the seams as a nation and as a people right now, and I think the President bears some blame for that as well in terms of some of the rhetoric he's used.