# Do SDMB Republicans agree that Obama is to blame for Trump rally violence? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 14, 2016, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-sdmb-republicans-agree-that-obama-is-to-blame-for-trump-rally-violence/749017 "2016-03-14T22:30:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-sdmb-republicans-agree-that-obama-is-to-blame-for-trump-rally-violence/749017/1 "2016-03-14T22:30:43Z")
Both Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz are on record as blaming Barack Obama for the violence at Trump rallies. I wonder if SDMB Republicans, or Republican-leaning independents, agree with this assessment from the present GOP’s Establishment champions. Perhaps this should be moved to GQ: My question has a factual answer if the Board’s Republicans weigh in. I am not a Republican and have no opinion, humble or otherwise, on the question. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-sdmb-republicans-agree-that-obama-is-to-blame-for-trump-rally-violence/749017/2 "2016-03-14T23:04:57Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > Both Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz are on record as blaming Barack Obama for the violence at Trump rallies. I wonder if SDMB Republicans, or Republican-leaning independents, agree with this assessment from the present GOP’s Establishment champions. > > Perhaps this should be moved to GQ: My question has a factual answer if the Board’s Republicans weigh in. I am not a Republican and have no opinion, humble or otherwise, on the question. I cannot fathom any reasonable connection between anything President Obama has done and the incidents of violence associated with Mr. Trump. So, no. Now that said, I have to admit to not hearing/seeing the Cruz or Rubio comments that sparked this thread. It may be that I agree completely with them, because they may have said something that made the connection clear. I can’t imagine what that might be… (“It’s Obama’s fault, because he paid this guy to start throwing punches!”) Still, I acknowledge the theoretical possibility that they might have something in mind. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-sdmb-republicans-agree-that-obama-is-to-blame-for-trump-rally-violence/749017/3 "2016-03-14T23:15:51Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > I cannot fathom any reasonable connection between anything President Obama has done and the incidents of violence associated with Mr. Trump. > > So, no. > > Now that said, I have to admit to not hearing/seeing the Cruz or Rubio comments that sparked this thread. It may be that I agree completely with them, because they may have said something that made the connection clear. I can’t imagine what that might be… (“It’s Obama’s fault, because he paid this guy to start throwing punches!”) Still, I acknowledge the theoretical possibility that they might have something in mind. Here you go. Makes perfect sense. > [@](#): > > Speaking on Fox News on Friday, Rubio, a Republican presidential candidate, claimed that Obama’s speeches on racial inequality over the past eight years resulted in dividing Americans “along haves and have-nots, along ethnic and racial lines, gender lines.” One of those speeches Rubio is likely alluding to was made last year after the racially-motivated shooting of nine African Americans in a Charleston, South Carolina-area church. > > “I think this has gone to the next level here, and we’re seeing the consequences of it,” Rubio continued. “That, in combination with the fact that I think there’s a need to remind people that the First Amendment allows people to disagree with issues and say things you don’t agree with, which is obviously being lost here. And then this sort of sense here on the left that if you don’t like what someone is saying, you have the right to shut them down, as you see happen on many college campuses across America. And you saw there tonight in there in Chicago.” ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-sdmb-republicans-agree-that-obama-is-to-blame-for-trump-rally-violence/749017/4 "2016-03-14T23:33:47Z")
This is going into the pit in 3…2…1… ---
**Author:** ![Stringbean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Stringbean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stringbean)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-sdmb-republicans-agree-that-obama-is-to-blame-for-trump-rally-violence/749017/5 "2016-03-14T23:37:12Z")
I think these protesters are being egged on (unleashed, rather) by the leftie organizations like [MoveOn.org](http://MoveOn.org) and the overlap with the Bern crowd is significant. I don’t think one can blame Obama or Bernie directly for any of this. And, similarly, I don’t blame Trump for rowdy protesters stirring up trouble at his otherwise peaceful rallies. Let’s make these morons responsible for their own behavior, for once. ---
**Author:** ![Me\_Billy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Me\_Billy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Me_Billy)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2016, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-sdmb-republicans-agree-that-obama-is-to-blame-for-trump-rally-violence/749017/6 "2016-03-15T00:19:18Z")
I can’t believe a President would have the time to sit around and micromanage election shenanigans… OOPS - Forgot about Nixon! (“I am not a crook!”) ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2016, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-sdmb-republicans-agree-that-obama-is-to-blame-for-trump-rally-violence/749017/7 "2016-03-15T00:31:31Z")
No. The key difference is that young people protest much, much more than older voters. And young voters are overwhelmingly liberal. There are plenty of Republicans who consider Sanders (and Obama) the anti-Christ just as millennial Democrats consider Trump to be. They are just more active, reactionary, with less impulse control. No conspiracies, just the peril of living in such a free society… ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2016, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-sdmb-republicans-agree-that-obama-is-to-blame-for-trump-rally-violence/749017/8 "2016-03-15T02:15:59Z")
> [@Stringbean](#): > > I think these protesters are being egged on (unleashed, rather) by the leftie organizations like [MoveOn.org](http://MoveOn.org) and the overlap with the Bern crowd is significant. > > I don’t think one can blame Obama or Bernie directly for any of this. > > And, similarly, I don’t blame Trump for rowdy protesters stirring up trouble at his otherwise peaceful rallies. Let’s make these morons responsible for their own behavior, for once. Exactly what I think. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2016, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-sdmb-republicans-agree-that-obama-is-to-blame-for-trump-rally-violence/749017/9 "2016-03-15T02:26:24Z")
> [@Stringbean](#): > > Let’s make these morons responsible for their own behavior, for once. At a _Trump_ rally…? Call the people at Hadron; Stringbean just discovered a purer form of Irony… ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2016, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-sdmb-republicans-agree-that-obama-is-to-blame-for-trump-rally-violence/749017/10 "2016-03-15T02:34:39Z")
I wouldn’t put it past _ **Trump** _ to be behind the protestors. If he gets interrupted, all he has to do is spout phrases like he did in Kansas city. He doesn’t actually have to make a speech, just say “Bernie supporters are to blame” or" get 'em out of here!" ---
**Author:** ![raventhief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raventhief/32/4_2.png) [@raventhief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raventhief)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2016, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-sdmb-republicans-agree-that-obama-is-to-blame-for-trump-rally-violence/749017/11 "2016-03-15T02:57:21Z")
He says thing like “id like to punch him in the face” about a protester and says he is looking into paying the legal fees of that guy who sucker punched a protester. bit he wants nice peaceful rallies? ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2016, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-sdmb-republicans-agree-that-obama-is-to-blame-for-trump-rally-violence/749017/12 "2016-03-15T04:19:53Z")
> [@raventhief](#): > > He says thing like “id like to punch him in the face” about a protester and says he is looking into paying the legal fees of that guy who sucker punched a protester. bit he wants nice peaceful rallies? Any lack of logic here is obviously Obama’s fault. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_King_of_Soup)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2016, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-sdmb-republicans-agree-that-obama-is-to-blame-for-trump-rally-violence/749017/13 "2016-03-15T04:21:20Z")
Not a Republican, but have spent time with some with few ill effects. I do wish protestors would gather outside Trump’s rallies. For one thing, there are getting to be enough of them that they’re materially inflating the attendance figures, second, they cede too much of the moral high ground by going inside, and third, pretty soon that’s where all the reporters will be too. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2016, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-sdmb-republicans-agree-that-obama-is-to-blame-for-trump-rally-violence/749017/14 "2016-03-15T04:21:53Z")
Obama is responsible for this to the exact same extent as Sarah Palin and Republicans were responsible for Gabby Gifford’s shooting. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2016, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-sdmb-republicans-agree-that-obama-is-to-blame-for-trump-rally-violence/749017/15 "2016-03-15T04:33:37Z")
I do think that Obama’s Presidency has contributed to the rise of Trump to some extent. But he’s not responsible for the violence surrounding him. That’s all on Trump, with an assist from the usual left wing suspects who think that we shouldn’t have free speech in this country. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2016, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-sdmb-republicans-agree-that-obama-is-to-blame-for-trump-rally-violence/749017/16 "2016-03-15T04:38:42Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > Both Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz are on record as blaming Barack Obama for… I think you could just stop the thread right there. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2016, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-sdmb-republicans-agree-that-obama-is-to-blame-for-trump-rally-violence/749017/17 "2016-03-15T14:40:10Z")
> [@raventhief](#): > > He says thing like “id like to punch him in the face” about a protester and says he is looking into paying the legal fees of that guy who sucker punched a protester. bit he wants nice peaceful rallies? On the latest Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, he played a montage of clips of Trump saying various things about how someone should be hit, or in the old days guys like that would be carried off in a stretcher, and a few other things like that. In 2012 there had been 4 years of Obama dividing the country or whatever, but I don’t remember protestors being beat up at Romney or Santorum rallies. ---
**Author:** ![OffByOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/45deac/32.png) [@OffByOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OffByOne)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2016, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-sdmb-republicans-agree-that-obama-is-to-blame-for-trump-rally-violence/749017/18 "2016-03-15T14:41:22Z")
If I had to guess (well, I don’t \*have to[I/] guess, but I will anyway), I would guess that it was Trump supporters throwing the first punch. “It’s 12 degrees outside, throw him out, but keep his coat.” “I’d like to punch him in the face!” “If you see someone with a tomato, take him out, I’ll pay for your legal fees.” These are NOT exact quotes, but the message is clear: It’s OK to resort to violence with anyone that does not agree with you. My opinion. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2016, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-sdmb-republicans-agree-that-obama-is-to-blame-for-trump-rally-violence/749017/19 "2016-03-15T15:03:16Z")
I blame Trump for being a bully and I fear for my party. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2016, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-sdmb-republicans-agree-that-obama-is-to-blame-for-trump-rally-violence/749017/20 "2016-03-15T16:03:04Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > Both Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz are on record as blaming Barack Obama for the violence at Trump rallies. Where does our president find the time to attend Trump’s rallies? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-sdmb-republicans-agree-that-obama-is-to-blame-for-trump-rally-violence/749017.md?page=2)