Trump's calls for unity are blasted by former Bush adviser

Stephen Proctor

Former George W. Bush and John McCain adviser Mark McKinnon joined CNN Tonight With Don Lemon where he questioned Donald Trump’s calls for unity following the attempted bombings of CNN, the Clintons, the Obamas, and others. The bombs appear to be politically motivated as they were sent to people with ties to the Democratic Party or those who have been critical of Trump. Shortly after the first bombs were discovered, Trump gave a speech calling for unity, then quickly blamed the media for the attacks. To point out the blatant hypocrisy, McKinnon quoted former Bush speechwriter Mike Gerson.

“You can’t call women cruel and misogynistic names, defame ethnic groups, discriminate based on religion, accuse opponents of being un-American and treasonous, excuse and encourage violence by your supporters, threaten political rivals with prison, tear migrant children from the arms of parents, and then credibly call for national unity when it’s politically useful,” McKinnon said in quoting Gerson, then added, “or … just needed.”

McKinnon, a Republican, said Trump calling for unity now means very little if anything. “The problem is, if your entire presidency and your campaign has been the opposite message, it’s just hard to come forward credibly and carry that message out in a way that people are going to believe it,” he said.

McKinnon also compared Trump’s credibility in moments like this with that of his predecessors.

“George W. Bush ran as a uniter, not a divider. And to some extent, so did Barack Obama. So did Bill Clinton,” McKinnon said. “So when they had those moments where they needed to call the country together, needed to unite the country, needed to be the healers, they could do so with some credibility.”

CNN Tonight With Don Lemon airs weeknights at 10 on CNN.

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