WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump has called on the media “to stop the endless hostility”, after suspected explosives were posted to high-profile US figures.
He was speaking after parcels were sent to CNN and top Democrats, including Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
None of the packages exploded. The FBI has launched a hunt for their sender.
The president’s critics called his comments hypocritical, as he often uses vicious language against his opponents and the press.
In scripted remarks at a Wednesday night rally in Wisconsin, the president vowed to catch the perpetrator, while calling on the media to end “constant negative and oftentimes false attacks and stories”.
Mr Trump also called for more civility in public life, saying: “Those engaged in the political arena must stop treating political opponents as being morally defective.
“No one should carelessly compare political opponents to historic villains, which is done often.” However, the president made no specific reference to the intended recipients of the packages.
Earlier CNN worldwide president Jeff Zucker criticised President Trump and the White House press secretary for not understanding that “words matter”.
“There is a total and complete lack of understanding at the White House about the seriousness of their continued attacks on the media,” he said. Suspected bombs were sent to locations in New York, the Washington DC area and Florida, authorities said on Wednesday.
Explosive devices were sent to the following individuals, according to the latest FBI statement:
Some of Mr Trump’s supporters have said they believe the packages sent this week are part of a Democratic plot to win votes in the mid-term elections. There is no evidence for this, and the police have not released any information about any suspects.
The attempted attacks come just under two weeks before the mid-terms, with US politics highly polarised. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio called the attempted attacks “an act of terror”.
He told a news conference: “To all public officials, to all partisan affiliations – don’t encourage violence, don’t encourage hatred, don’t encourage attacks on media. You can disagree, but you have to show respect.”
