Trump insists he's not to blame for suspected bomber who attended his campaign rally and targeted his political opponents
- President Donald Trump insisted he is not to blame for Cesar Sayoc Jr., the Florida man who was arrested in connection to the package bombs that were sent to top Democrats and government officials.
- Sayoc is believed to have been an avid Trump supporter who also sent threats to critics of the Trump administration.
- Asked by reporters on Friday if he believed he was to blame, Trump responded: "No, not at all."
- Trump added that prior to the discovery of the mailed explosives, Republicans "had tremendous momentum" in the midterm elections.
President Donald Trump insisted he was not to blame after a Florida man was arrested in connection to the spate of improvised explosive devices that were sent to numerous high profile Democratic leaders.
Asked by reporters on Friday if he believed he was to blame, Trump responded: "No, not at all."
"There's no blame. There's no anything," Trump said.
"If you look at what happened to Steve Scalise, that was from a supporter of a different party," Trump added, referring to Republican Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, who was shot by a political activist during a congressional baseball practice in 2017. "If you look at what happened on - numerous of these incidents, they were supporters of others."
Trump noted that prior to this week's discovery of explosives that were sent to Democratic lawmakers and critics of the Trump administration, Republicans "had tremendous momentum" for the midterm elections.
"And then, of course, this happened," Trump said. "Where all that you people talked about was that. And rightfully so. It was a big thing."
"But now we have to start the momentum again," Trump added. "I think the Republicans have tremendous momentum - when you think of Judge Kavanaugh, when you think of all the things that have happened."
Since Wednesday, law-enforcement officials intercepted 13 mail bombs that were sent to the residences of Bill and Hillary Clinton, former President Barack Obama, the offices of Democratic Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Maxine Waters, and other Trump critics.
Another suspicious package intended for the billionaire philanthropist George Soros was intercepted earlier this week.
No injuries have been reported as of Friday.
On Friday, 56-year-old Cesar Sayoc Jr. was arrested in connection with sending the explosive devices.
Sayoc is believed to have been an ardent supporter of the Trump administration and was seen attending Trump's campaign rallies in 2017. His suspected social media accounts also appeared to send threatening messages to Trump's critics.