(CNN) Former CIA Director John Brennan said Wednesday that President Donald Trump's rhetoric is "un-American" and has "emboldened individuals to take matters into their own hands" in his first public remarks following a bomb addressed to him being sent to CNN.

Speaking at an event at the Lyndon Baines Johnson Auditorium in Austin, Texas, the former CIA director said he's hopeful that Trump's statement condemning the pipe bombs sent Wednesday to political leaders and CNN marks "a turning point." Brennan was one of the intended targets of the bombs, which were also addressed to former President Barack Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, major Democratic donor George Soros and former Attorney General Eric Holder.

"His rhetoric, I think, too frequently fuels these feelings and sentiments that now are bleeding over into, potentially, acts of violence," Brennan said.

"A lot of this rhetoric really is counterproductive, it is un-American, it is what a president should not be doing," Brennan added.

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