Journalist and author Bob Woodward laid the blame for the Friday attack on Paul Pelosi at the feet of the political climate he said was created in part by former President Donald Trump.
Pelosi, 82, was attacked overnight at the San Francisco residence he shares with his wife House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D). Police have identified 42-year-old David DePape as the suspect.
According to law enforcement, DePape struck Paul Pelosi with a hammer, attempted to tie him up and also demanded information on the whereabouts of the ranking House Democrat.
Nancy Pelosi was in Washington, D.C. at the time of the attack. DePape has been charged with multiple crimes, including attempted homicide.
While discussing the violence on her daily show, MSNBC’s Katy Tur welcomed Woodward to discuss his thoughts on the shocking burglary and assault. Woodward quickly invoked the name of the former president:
Obviously, awful, awful act. And you can’t pre-judge who this person is who did it, what the motive is, but I think it’s reasonable and necessary to step back and ask the question, what sort of climate of violence has been created in this country? And the answer, and you could put at the tapes, as Donald Trump as candidate and president urging people on, in a violent way.
And now, you can’t trace – it would be unfair to trace that to this act – but we create a climate as politicians, citizens, everyone, the press, also, and the climate is violence.
Woodward said he did not know how to unite a country largely divided along ideological lines, but said, “Somebody needs to remedy this.”
“I don’t know who it’s going to be or how it’s done,” Woodward added. “But what happened to Paul Pelosi is abhorrent and it stems, or it is made more possible, by this climate that has been created.”
Earlier this week, Woodward described Trump as a “threat to democracy.”
Watch above, via MSNBC.
Have a tip we should know? tips@mediaite.com
For more latest TV News Click Here