Tuesday on MSNBC’s “Hardball,” 2020 Democratic presidential hopeful and billionaire hedge fund manager Tom Steyer said President Donald Trump had “given license” to racists to act out their worst impulses with his rhetoric.

Steyer said, “It’s not just that he is fomenting an atmosphere of hate and racial divisiveness. i think we all know he is doing that. He is also making it clear that violence is a response to that. He’s been doing it recently with regard to the four young congresswomen of color where he’s encouraging chants of “send them home,” get rid of them, they’re not real Americans is the implication of that.”

He added, “If you look at the change in hate crimes since he’s been president, he’s effectively given license to racists to act out their worst impulses. And he is doing the exact opposite of what the president of the United States should do, which is to talk about the values of justice and equality that are the very core of our country. And that I think should be animating every presidential candidate and certainly every president to bring this country together instead to try to divide us for his own political purposes.”

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