'The inevitable consequence of Trump's incitement': Democrats accuse Trump of helping provoke attempted violence against Clintons, Obama, and Soros

AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, center, is joined on stage by first lady Michelle Obama, left, President Barack Obama, second from left, Chelsea Clinton, second from right, and former President Bill Clinton, right, after speaking at a rally at Independence Mall in Philadelphia, Monday, Nov. 7, 2016.

• Democrats and critics of President Donald Trump are blaming Republican leaders for either explicitly or indirectly condoning violence against Democrats and the media.
• It came as packages containing explosive devices were sent by mail to high-profile Democrats, including former President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
• All of those targeted are critics of the president whom Trump has in turn attacked relentlessly. 
• "That someone would seek to kill their political enemies is not aberrational but rather the inevitable consequence of Trump's incitement," former GOP strategist Steve Schmidt tweeted Wednesday.

Democrats and critics of President Donald Trump blamed Republican leaders for either explicitly or indirectly condoning violence against Democrats and the media.

It came as packages containing explosive devices were sent by mail on Wednesday to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former President Barack Obama, and the CNN offices in New York, while a similar scare came at the home of George Soros, the billionaire liberal donor and philanthropist, on Monday.

Dan Pfeiffer, a former senior adviser to Obama, doubted that Republicans, including House Majority Leader Paul Ryan, were sincere in their condemnations of the attempted violence when they did little to stop Trump, his supporters, and many other Republicans demonize and threaten Democratic leaders and the media. 

"Those behind such reprehensible acts must be brought to justice. We cannot tolerate any attempt to terrorize public figures," Ryan tweeted on Wednesday morning after news broke of the suspicious packages. 

"It's hard to take this seriously," Pfeiffer tweeted in reference to Ryan's statement. 

Former CIA Director John Brennan and Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the former head of the Democratic National Committee, also were targeted recipients of the packages. All of those targeted are critics of the president whom Trump has in turn attacked relentlessly. 

Obama has publicly slammed Trump's attacks on the press, which the current president has repeatedly asserted is "the enemy of the people." Obama has painted the criticism un-American, while many others have insisted the characterization poses a danger to journalists. 

"It shouldn't be Democratic or Republican to say that we don't threaten the freedom of the press because they say things or publish stories we don't like," Obama said during a speech in Illinois in September. 

Trump has made CNN a particular target of his assault on the media and regularly calls the cable news network "fake news."

Democrats also pointed to a popular GOP rallying cry, "Lock her up!", which Trump and his allies used to demonize Clinton and whip up enthusiasm at rallies during the 2016 election. The president also encouraged his supporters to physically confront political opponents on numerous occasions during the 2016 election. 

Earlier this month, the president called Democrats "too dangerous to govern" during an Iowa rally. 

Jon Favreau, a former Obama speechwriter, pointed to an apparent joke Sen. Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, made during a rally on Monday after an audience member yelled "Lock him up!" in reference to Cruz's Democratic challenger, Rep. Beto O'Rourke. 

Cruz responded, "Well, you know, there's a double-occupancy cell with Hillary Clinton," to which the crowd roared. 

The lawmaker and former presidential candidate added: "Y'all are gonna get me in trouble with that."

On Wednesday, Cruz called the attempted attacks on Obama, Clinton, and Soros "deeply, deeply disturbing." 

"Political disagreements are fine, even healthy, but we should always be civil and respect each other's humanity," he tweeted.

Other critics of the president were even more clear about where they lay blame for the attempted violence. 

"Trump has stoked a cold civil war in this Country," tweeted Steve Schmidt, a former GOP strategist who ran Sen. John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign and announced he was leaving the GOP earlier this year. "His rallies brim with menace and he has labeled journalists as enemies of the people. That someone would seek to kill their political enemies is not aberrational but rather the inevitable consequence of Trump's incitement." 

Peter Daou, a former top advisor to Hillary Clinton, declared on Twitter, "THE FAR RIGHT IS VIOLENT." 

In a statement on Wednesday, the White House condemned "these terrorizing acts," and White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, "it's okay to disagree in politics, but it's never okay to take action against another individual."