Story highlights Oregon senator said he was dissatisfied with Trump's condemnation of the Portland stabbings

"But to the wave of violence, yes, he bears responsibility," he said

Portland, Oregon (CNN) In the wake of a fatal stabbing in Portland last week, a US senator from Oregon said that President Donald Trump bears some responsibility for a "wave of violence" in the country.

Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley told CNN after a town hall meeting Tuesday night that he was dissatisfied with Trump's condemnation of the stabbings, saying a Twitter message from the @POTUS account "didn't sound like President Trump" and, separately, accused him of encouraging hate speech during his 2016 campaign.

Asked if Merkley was saying Trump should bear any responsibility for incidents like the stabbing, the senator argued that Trump bears responsibility for a larger "wave of violence."

"You probably can't tie him directly to one particular act of violence. But to the wave of violence, yes, he bears responsibility," he said.

Trump's tweet came Monday morning after the Friday night incident left two men dead and another wounded. The victims were stabbed as they attempted to calm a man who was yelling at two women, one of whom was wearing a hijab.

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