A Democratic candidate in New Mexico was nearly run down by a crazed Trump supporter.
Sergio Gonzalez – who is running for county commissioner in southern New Mexico – reported that while he was standing in the Democratic Party headquarters parking lot in Roswell, New Mexico, an enraged driver pulled alongside him. The driver began cursing Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and the Democrats:
“This lady came out of nowhere and started yelling every dirty word in the book at us. She drove away then came back.”
The woman shouted that Democrats are ruining the country and that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump would put it back on track. Gonzalez, a former Marine, tried talking to the woman and sharing his perspective as a veteran. But the driver peeled off chanting “Trump,” nearly running over Gonzalez and his 72-year-old mother.
Patterns of Violence
This random act of aggression against Gonzalez is not an isolated incident. Trump and his supporters have made violence a central feature of the campaign season.
At a Tucson rally back in March, for instance, a Trump supporter sucker-punched a protester who was being escorted out. At the same rally, Trump’s former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski nearly yanked a protester off their feet.
Lewandowski’s most notorious act of violence as part of the Trump campaign was roughing up Breitbart News reporter Michelle Fields. Some reporters who cover Trump rallies are now getting “situational awareness” training – the kind used to prepare journalists for war zones, riots, and conflict zones.
Trickle-down Hate
Gonzalez believes the driver who nearly struck him and his mother was inspired by Trump’s disrespect for opposing viewpoints. Asked where hate and anger of this sort come from, he explained:
“It starts at the top.”
It’s hard to disagree with Gonzalez’s point of view. At one rally in February, Trump promised to pay the legal fees of any supporters involved in violence against protesters.
At a Nevada rally where a protester was escorted out, Trump said:
“I love the old days, you know what they used to do to guys like that when they were in a place like this? They’d be carried out in a stretcher, folks. Oh, it’s true. … I’d like to punch him in the face, I’ll tell you.”
