House Speaker Paul Ryan blasted Democratic Representative Maxine Waters today at a news conference saying she should “obviously apologize” for making comments about Trump administration officials.
Waters had called on those who opposed the Trump administration’s policy, that has resulted in family separation, to “harass” members of the administration in public.
“When we in this democracy are suggesting that because we disagree with people on political, policy and philosophical views, that we should resort to violence, harassment and intimidation, that’s dangerous for our society,” Ryan said. “It’s dangerous for our democracy. She should apologize, and there’s just no place for that in our public discourse.”
Waters told the attendees at a rally in Los Angeles on Saturday: “Let’s make sure we show up wherever we have to show up. And if you see anybody from that Cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd. And you push back on them. And you tell them they’re not welcome anymore, anywhere. We’ve got to get the children connected to their parents.”
Waters defended her comments on MSNBC on Monday night saying, “I would not in any way support any violence, anybody being hit or beaten or say to them: ‘I’ll help get you out of jail,’” she said. “This president is guilty of all of that.”
Many critics have noted that Ryan has so far refused to ask the president to apologize for numerous comments he has made both on the campaign trail and in office that many viewed as inciting violence, harassment and intimidation.
