Chris Wallace presses Mulvaney: Why doesn’t Trump give a speech denouncing ‘anti-Muslim bigotry’? | TheHill – The Hill

Fox News anchor Chris Wallace on Sunday pressed acting White House chief of staff Mick MulvaneyJohn (Mick) Michael MulvaneyThe tragedy of Mick Mulvaney and the war budget Overnight Defense: Pentagon details 8 billion budget request | Officials defend boost for war fund | Armed Services chair aims to ‘kill’ Trump plan for low-yield nuke Pentagon pushes back on accusations of 5B ‘budgetary gimmick’ MORE on why President TrumpDonald John TrumpBiden on potential candidacy: ‘I have the most progressive record’ Left-wing Dems in minority with new approach to spending Washington Senate passes bill that would keep Trump off 2020 ballot unless he releases tax returns MORE has not considered giving a speech condemning “anti-Muslim bigotry.”

“I understand and I very much agree that the president is not responsible for this action,” Wallace said on “Fox News Sunday” while talking with Mulvaney about shootings at two New Zealand mosques that left dozens dead.

“But has he considered, given the fact that some people seem to feel that he has given them cover, has he considered giving a major speech condemn anti-Muslim, white supremacist bigotry?”

Mick Mulvaney talks New Zealand massacre on Fox News Sunday #FNS #NewZealand pic.twitter.com/fBBpM5CyeM

— FoxNewsSunday (@FoxNewsSunday) March 17, 2019

Wallace asked the question after playing multiple tapes including Trump’s rhetoric about immigration and Muslims. In one from 2016, Trump said that he thinks “Islam hates us.” Another included Trump last week calling an influx of immigration an “invasion.”

Mulvaney initially dismissed the question, saying that the scrutiny Trump has received in light of the terrorist attack has been undeserved. 

“There’s folks that just don’t like the president and everything that goes wrong, they’re going to look to tie that to the president,” Mulvaney said, adding that it was “absurd” to link the suspected shooter’s manifesto to Trump’s language. 

Reports have surfaced since the shooting that one of the suspects produced a manifesto in which he called Trump “a symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose.”

But Wallace continued to press, asking why Trump hasn’t thought about giving a speech denouncing “white supremacists, white nationalists, anti-Muslim bigotry” given the attention the issue has gained. 

“You’ve seen the president stand up for religious liberty, individual liberty. The president is not a white supremacist,” Mulvaney replied. “I’m not sure how many times we have to say that.”

Wallace noted later that “Trump speaks out about a lot of things,” before wondering why he doesn’t deliver a speech making “it clear that there is no place in the world for this kind of hatred.”

“I think you saw that yesterday in the tweet,” Mulvaney responded. “I’m not sure what more you want the president to do. You may say you want to give him a national speech to address the nation. That’s fine, maybe we do that, maybe we don’t.”

The exchange came just days after an alleged gunman opened fire in a pair of mosques in New Zealand, killing 50 people and injuring many others.  The Australian man charged in connection with the shooting killed 41 people at one mosque and seven at another. Two others died after being hospitalized. 

Trump has called the shooting “senseless” and “horrific.” He later said that white nationalism is believed among a “small group of people that have very, very serious problems.”