Democratic strategist Duvalier Malone said on Hill.TV’s “What America’s Thinking” on Wednesday that hate crimes in the U.S. would decrease if the Trump administration made more of an effort to combat them.
“I honestly think that we can see a decrease in these hate crimes if we begin to see it starting at the top,” Malone, author of “Those Who Give a Damn,” told host Jamal Simmons. “That starts with this administration, it starts with President Trump, and it trickles down.”
“It also is holding our political leaders accountable on both sides of the aisle,” he continued. “Holding the Republicans accountable to hold the president accountable that it is not right for us to say that there are good people on each side of the aisle there in Charlottesville.”
Malone was referring to Trump’s comments saying both sides were responsible for violent protests spurred by the deadly white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., in 2017.
The U.S. has experienced a string of hate crimes in recent years, largely targeted at religious and racial minorities.
The Anti-Defamation League said Tuesday that anti-Semitic incidents have doubled in the U.S. since just 2015.
Saturday’s shooting at a San Diego synagogue, which killed one and injured three others, marked the second deadly synagogue shooting in the span of six months after 11 people were killed in Pittsburgh in October.
— Julia Manchester
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