By Ed Diokno
Kurt Bardella is one the many nameless “grunts” who work behind the scenes of a political campaign to help the campaign run smoothly. We probably would not have heard of him if not for yesterday when he decided to stand against the violence that has been following the Donald Trump campaign for President.
“There is this escalating pattern of behavior that’s only happening at Donald Trump events,” Bardella told Buzzfeed. “It’s incredibly dangerous. His rhetoric is unmistakable and it is calculated and it is intentional.”
Bardella resigned from his position as Breitbart News spokesperson a few hours before the cancellation of a Trump rally in Chicago because police feared they would not be able to control the thousands of anti-Trump protestors.
What appears to be the last straw was when Michelle Fields, a reporter from Breitbart News, a pro-Trump news agency, was reportedly manhandled and forced to the ground by Corey Lewandowski, the candidate’s campaign manager. Breitbart News, instead of supporting their reporter, seemed to waffle and even posted stories casting doubt on her version of the incident. A Washington Post story by a reporter who witnessed the entire incident backed Fields’ story.
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“I just disagree with the course of which (Breitbart News) had been covering this, and how they’ve treated Michelle,” he told CNN. “I think that they’ve been looking for a reason to disprove something, when all the evidence from a Washington Post reporter’s firsthand account, to the bruises on Michelle’s arm, to all the photos and video clips that we’ve seen strongly suggest that Corey Lewandowski, Donald Trump’s campaign manager was the one who did this. And there’s no reason to never support your own reporter.”
Breitbart News stands behind Michelle Fields. Even Donald Trump campaign spokesperson Katrina Pierson said Thursday that “someone probably did grab her,” i.e. Fields, though she claimed it could not have been Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski. Trump’s suggestion that Fields made up the incident Tuesday evening contradicts the evidence, including her own injuries, an account from Washington Post reporter Ben Terris, and audio recorded at the scene.
My own personal observation is that there is an escalating cycle of behavior that happens only at Donald Trump events.
— Kurt Bardella (@kurtbardella) March 11, 2016
It is wrong and disgusting and indicative of an ugliness that is contaminating the public discourse.
— Kurt Bardella (@kurtbardella) March 11, 2016
When you reach a point where you can’t give 100% to people you represent it’s not tenable to continue representing them.
— Kurt Bardella (@kurtbardella) March 11, 2016
Life is too short to invest your time in what you don’t believe or aren’t passionate about.
— Kurt Bardella (@kurtbardella) March 11, 2016
Bardella was born in Korea and at 3 months old, he was adopted by a childless American couple and he once reportedly told a writer that he’s not a “D” or an “R,” (Democrat or Republican) but an “O” (opportunist). However, he left no doubt why he left his political position.
“I think that Donald Trump has been a disruptive force in the political and public rhetoric, the discourse of the conversations running the presidential campaign has deteriorated,” said Bardella in the CNN interview. “You are seeing violence and it’s not just an isolated incident. It’s a pattern of behavior, … And at what point does somebody draw the line and say enough is enough, and take responsibility for that? You had Donald Trump on (CNN) not that long ago. He doesn’t take responsibility from it.”
Bardellla, who used to fulfill the same function for Republican Rep. Daryl Issa, had enough. “Donald Trump makes me embarrassed to say that I’m a Republican.”
(Ed Diokno writes a blog :Views From The Edge: news and analysis from an Asian American perspective.)
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