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"There’s no denying that one of the reasons there’s so much energy at these events is that you have an aspiring political leader inflaming tensions," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest (pictured March 7) said. | AP Photo White House knocks GOP leaders for not standing up to Trump

White House press secretary Josh Earnest criticized Republican leaders for not standing up to Donald Trump for encouraging violence at campaign rallies.

“We continue to see prominent Republican after prominent Republican pledge support for the front-runner ... it makes it hard to take serious their handwringing over Trump's divisive rhetoric,” Earnest said during Monday’s White House news briefing. He added, "At some point, someone is going to have to step up and show some leadership."

Trump has come under fire for the tone of his rallies, which have seen violent clashes between protesters and his supporters. He said on Sunday that he'll look into paying the legal fees of a man who was arrested for punching a protester at one of his rallies last week.

While Trump's rivals have said they'll stand behind the pledge they signed last year to back the eventual GOP nominee, some have started wavering. Marco Rubio on Saturday paused before responding to the question of whether he still promises to support the party’s nominee even if it’s Trump.

“I don’t know,” Rubio said. “I already talked about the fact that I think Hillary Clinton would be terrible for this country, but the fact that you’re even asking me that question. … I still at this moment intend to support the Republican nominee, but … it’s getting harder every day.”

John Kasich, campaigning in his home state of Ohio, also wavered. “It makes it extremely difficult,” he said.

Ted Cruz on Monday in Illinois said he would still support Trump if he secures the nomination, barring extreme circumstances. "If, for example, he were to go out on Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, I would not be willing to support Donald Trump," he said.

House Speaker Paul Ryan on Monday called Trump’s rallies “very concerning” but also suggested protesters were partly to blame. “At the same time, I think the candidates need to take responsibility for the environment at their events,” he told WRJN, a local Wisconsin radio station, on Monday. “There is never an excuse for condoning violence, or even a culture that presupposes it.”

Earnest, however, said it's time for more people to reject Trump's dangerous influence.

"There’s no denying that one of the reasons there’s so much energy at these events is that you have an aspiring political leader inflaming tensions, appealing to people’s darker impulses and trying to capitalize on their anxieties to provide energy for his campaign,” Earnest said.

