President-elect Joe Biden denounced “all acts of violence” in a statement to Fox News after attacks on President Trump’s supporters at the so-called Million MAGA March in Washington, D.C., on Saturday.
“President-elect Biden continues to denounce all acts of violence,” Biden spokesperson Andrew Bates said Monday, although he did not name Antifa or Black Lives Matter.
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“Likewise, he also condemns the repugnant displays of white supremacy that were made in Washington, DC this weekend,” Bates continued, citing a sign displayed at the march that read “Coming for Blacks and Indians first welcome to the New World Order.”
Fox News’ inquiries about violence against Trump supporters to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer were not returned.
Trump campaign spokesperson Erin Perrine had called on Biden to condemn the violence on FOX Business’ “Varney & Co.”
“It’s egregious to see that kind of violence break out against really peaceful individuals who were in D.C. to show support for President Trump,” Perrine said Monday morning. “Unfortunately, this is not the first time this kind of violent attack has happened against Trump supporters. I remember back in New Hampshire in the primaries when a 16-year-old boy was punched in the face for standing there wearing a MAGA hat.”
Several thousand Trump supporters took part in the march, which attracted numerous counterprotesters. After night fell, the relatively peaceful demonstrations in Washington turned from tense to violent.
Multiple confrontations appeared later in the day as small groups of Trump supporters attempted to enter the area around Black Lives Matter Plaza, about a block from the White House, where several hundred anti-Trump demonstrators had gathered.
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In a pattern that kept repeating itself, those Trump supporters who approached the area were harassed, doused with water and saw their MAGA hats and pro-Trump flags snatched and burned, amid cheers.
The Daily Caller’s Matt Miller posted video of a “melee” involving the far-right Proud Boys and Antifa.
Conservative commentator Candace Owens shared footage of two Trump supporters, a young man and a young woman, being rushed by counterprotesters in Washington, D.C.
“Black Lives Matter and Antifa represent the absolute vermin of our society,” Owens wrote on Twitter. “They were created as the marxist foot soldiers of the Democrat Party and given a pass by the leftist-controlled media. Pray for this young woman who was attacked.”‘
Biden and Trump had a heated exchange about Antifa during the presidential debate in September.
“Antifa is an idea, not an organization,” Biden said.
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Trump fired back: “Oh, you got to be kidding.”
Biden’s statement to Fox News is in line with previous statements condemning violence of any kind. In a September TV interview, he condemned Antifa and violence “across the board.” He made similar statements after the killing of Jacob Blake and after a grand jury decision in the Breonna Taylor case.
The Associated Press and Fox News’ Sam Dorman contributed to this report.
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