White House press secretary Sarah Sanders called out high-profile Democrats for rushing to condemn an alleged attack on “Empire” star Jussie Smollett that is now believed to be a hoax.
Smollett was arrested Thursday morning after Chicago police said they believe Smollett orchestrated an attack in which he said he was beaten up and called racial and homophobic slurs by two Trump supporters.
President Donald Trump tweeted Thursday that Smollett had insulted “tens of millions” of the president’s supporters with his “racist and dangerous comments.”
.@JussieSmollett – what about MAGA and the tens of millions of people you insulted with your racist and dangerous comments!? #MAGA
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 21, 2019
Sanders explained on Fox News that Trump chose to address the Smollett situation because “there were so many people including a lot of leadership from the Democrat party from Nancy Pelosi, Cory Booker, and a number of others, mostly those that are running for president, quickly came out and attacked the president — blamed the president.” (RELATED: Here Are All The Politicians Who Rushed To Judgment On The Smollett ‘Hate Crime’)
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“In fact, as we learn more it certainly seems like the only person to blame in this case is Smollett and it’s another sad example of people so quick to want to attack and come after this president, much like you saw with the Covington kids and certainly with this case as well, and the president is pushing back,” Sanders continued.
Democratic Sens. Cory Booker and Kamala Harris both called the alleged attack on Smollett a modern-day “lynching.” Booker has remained silent on updates about the case, while Harris tweeted a statement saying she was “frustrated” with Smollett but that “hate crimes are on the rise in America.”
Smollett has been charged for filing a false police report and is currently out on bail.
