SUSPICIOUS PACKAGES FOUND AT HOMES OF JOE BIDEN, DE NIRO
‘Potentially destructive’ packages also sent to Biden, actor de Niro’s home
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump called for unity as a manhunt was underway for those responsible for explosive devices mailed or delivered to the homes and offices of leading public figures and former officials who have been both his critics and targets.
Three more packages were being examined on Thursday, including two addressed to former vice president Joe Biden in Delaware and one to actor Robert de Niro in New York, taking the total to 10 — starting with Democratic donor George Soros on Monday and followed by those sent to former president Barack Obama, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, former CIA director John Brennan (delivered to CNN), former attorney general Eric Holder (which was returned), and Democratic lawmaker Maxine Waters (who was sent two packages).
The package for Biden was found at a mailing facility in Delaware, and the one for De Niro was at the Manhattan building where he lives. Both packages were probably delivered earlier, but were found late on Wednesday and Thursday morning. There was still no word on the mailers.
With no damage to life or property, the packages turned into a measure of the political atmosphere of a country just days from crucial mid-term elections for all of the House of Representatives, a third of the Senate and twothirds of the states, as well as Trump’s divisive rhetoric.
“In these times, we have to unify,” Trump said in his first remarks after the discovery of the packages, attempting to address questions about his rhetoric.
“We have to come together and send one very clear, strong and unmistakable message that acts or threats of political violence of any kind have no place in the USA,” he said.
He didn’t name any of those targeted and made no attempt to reach out to them. But he went on the attack hours later.
Trump said to cheering supporters at a rally in Wisconsin that both sides need to do their bit. Stop calling political opponents “morally defective”, he argued, adding no one should “carelessly compare political opponents to historical villains, which is done all the time…got to stop”.
Liberals opposed to this administration have often called Trump autocratic and despotic, comparing him to heinous figures in history. Other members of his administration have received similar attention, which has rankled Trump.
He urged the media to play a responsible role, without once condemning or mentioning the package delivered to CNN’s New York office, which was meant for Brennan.