We already knew that Donald Trump’s campaign was one of the most amateurish major-party campaigns in recent memory. But the latest evidence of just how amateurish he is came on Sunday night. After word got out that a county Republican Party headquarters in North Carolina was firebombed, Trump wasted little time in blaming this outrageous act on Hillary Clinton supporters. One problem–Hillary’s team had already denounced this act of domestic terrorism.
On Sunday, the headquarters of the Orange County Republican Party was destroyed by a Molotov cocktail. Watch more details here, via CNN.
For those who don’t know, Orange County is home to Chapel Hill and my alma mater, the University of North Carolina. It is one of the most ridiculously blue counties in the South. Speaking from personal experience–having spent the first four years of my adult life in Chapel Hill–I know that the Orange County GOP is one of the most exclusive clubs in the South.
That doesn’t make this act any less despicable, though. The bombing of a party headquarters behavior has no place in our democracy. Period, full stop. And that would be true even if there is any truth to the speculation that this was a false flag. Whoever did this, regardless of motivation, must be arrested and jailed for a long time.
Sadly, Trump couldn’t even leave it at that. On Sunday afternoon, he blasted out this tweet.
Animals representing Hillary Clinton and Dems in North Carolina just firebombed our office in Orange County because we are winning @NCGOP
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 16, 2016
He posted a similar statement on Facebook.
Apparently Trump wasn’t checking his phone, or his social media team must have been asleep at their computers or phones. Had anyone been paying attention, they would have seen this tweet posted by Hillary’s Twitter team.
The attack on the Orange County HQ @NCGOP office is horrific and unacceptable. Very grateful that everyone is safe.
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) October 16, 2016
Note the timestamp–more than an hour and a half before Trump blasted this borderline slanderous tweet. And his Facebook post came at 6:36 pm Eastern on Sunday–long enough for someone to check to see if Hillary had spoken up.
Once again, Trump is pouring gasoline on a situation at the worst possible time. If Trump has anything in him, he will delete these outrageous tweets, apologize to Hillary, and let the authorities in North Carolina get to the bottom of this despicable crime.
(featured image courtesy Pat McCrory’s Twitter)
