House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan had a pointed response to CNN’s Dana Bash on Sunday when she asked him to condemn recent violence in the wake of former President Donald Trump’s federal indictment.
Trump was indicted on Thursday on 31 counts of alleged violations of the Espionage Act or the willful retention of national security information, as well as one count of “conspiracy to obstruct justice,” one count of “withholding a document or record,” one count of corruptly concealing a document or record,” one count of “concealing a document in a deferral investigation,” one count of “scheme to conceal,” and one count of “false statements and representations.”
In response to Bash’s question, Jordan responded by noting that there should be a universal condemnation of violence but that it would have been nice if “Left“ had done so during the violent riots of 2020. Jordan also referenced CNN’s reporting during those riots, citing a chyron in August 2020 describing the Kenosha, Wisconsin riots as “fiery but mostly peaceful protests after police shooting.”
“Of course we don’t want violence. We’ve condemned violence every time — I condemned it when it happened on January 6th. I condemned it when it happened in the summer of 2020. It’d have been nice if the Left would have done the same, because what I saw — actually, frankly, I saw it on your network, I saw reporters standing in front of a burning building saying, ‘Oh, it is mostly peaceful protests,'” Jordan said.
Jordan’s response makes one thing perfectly clear: there should be no excuses or downplaying of violence—no matter who it‘s directed towards or which political side it‘s coming from. It’s imperative that violence, no matter the context, is condemned and dealt with appropriately.
The alleged violence that is occurring in the wake of Trump’s indictment is unacceptable and should be addressed. Americans deserve to live and feel safe in their own country and any form of violence should not be tolerated.
Jordan’s comments should serve as a reminder to every American that violence has no place in our society and that it should always be addressed swiftly and properly. Only then can we protect our nation and ensure a safe future for everyone.
