Rep. Jasmine Crockett blames President Trump for promoting a 'culture of violence'

Amid national mourning over the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Texas Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett came out to defend her party's use of strong rhetoric, including comparisons of President Donald Trump as a "wannabe Hitler."

Along those lines, the representative rejected accusations that far-left language contributed to Kirk's murder, arguing instead that it is Trump who has fostered a culture of political violence.

Crockett, during an appearance on Friday on "The Breakfast Club" radio show, denounced political violence in general, but rejected that Democratic rhetoric is responsible. "Even if it came from someone on our side of the aisle, let's assume the worst, OK, so let's talk about it," she said. "Let's talk about what 'radicalized' him."

Takes aim at Trump

The congresswoman took direct aim at President Donald Trump as the real promoter of the violence. "So, we've got to talk about like what it means when you're running for president, or you're running for one of these higher offices, and you go out there and you talk about beating people up, you go out there and you say things like, 'I could shoot somebody in the middle of the street in New York and I could still win,'" she argued. "We got to talk about, like that, that is next level," she added. "Me disagreeing with you, me calling you, you know, 'wannabe Hitler,' all those things are like, not necessarily saying, 'Go out and hurt somebody.' But when you're literally telling people at rallies, 'Yeah, beat them up' and that kind of stuff, you are promoting a culture of violence."

For his part, the show's host, Charlamagne tha God, offered a more nuanced perspective, acknowledging that inflammatory language exists on both sides, but Crockett insisted that comparisons to Hitler do not amount to incitement.

During the same interview, Crockett linked most mass shootings to "white supremacist ideology." "It's always some White supremacy kind of thing that's going on. It's not Black folk that are going out there, it's not immigrants that are going out there. But what cities are we going into? Black cities, because we are supposedly the ones that commit all the crime," she said.

The White House responds

A response from the White House did not take and was critical. According to Fox News Digital, spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said, "What on earth did Jasmine Crockett mean when she said she wasn't 'necessarily' encouraging her supporters to hurt Republicans? It sure sounds like she's justifying political violence," Jackson said. "She needs to clarify this immediately. Her comments are not only deeply troubling, but they only serve to further divide and radicalize her left-wing supporters – and it's despicable that she would try and point fingers at President Trump for the assassination of his dear friend, Charlie Kirk."