Former first daughter Chelsea Clinton was berated at a vigil for victims of the New Zealand massacre Friday night by an activist who claimed that her denunciation of Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-MN) comments created the atmosphere which allowed the shooting to happen.
According to Business Insider, the activist was a New York University student. In a video now gone viral, the student berates the pregnant Clinton.
“This right here is the result of a massacre stoked by people like you and the words that you put into the world,” she said. “And I want you to know that and I want you to feel that deeply — 49 people died because of the rhetoric you put out there.”
“I’m so sorry, that certainly was never my intention, I believe that words matter,” Clinton responds in the video.
After Omar’s tweet last month, Clinton had responded: “We should expect all elected officials, regardless of party, and all public figures to not traffic in anti-Semitism.”
Co-signed as an American. We should expect all elected officials, regardless of party, and all public figures to not traffic in anti-Semitism.
— Chelsea Clinton (@ChelseaClinton) February 11, 2019
Clinton is receiving largely bipartisan support in the wake of the incident.
From an NYT opinion columnist:
No, Chelsea Clinton is not responsible for the terrorist attacks and she was there yesterday at the vigil in solidarity. You can disagree with her opinions but what transpired was just so dumb and unnecessary. She could have been engaged in conversation in a more productive way.
— Wajahat Ali (@WajahatAli) March 16, 2019
From President Donald Trump’s son:
It’s sickening to see people blame @ChelseaClinton for the NZ attacks because she spoke out against anti-Semitism. We should all be condemning anti-Semitism & all forms of hate. Chelsea should be praised for speaking up. Anyone who doesn’t understand this is part of the problem.
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) March 16, 2019