EXCERPT:
MURPHY: “Well, I think there is two important things to say here. First is, there is a direct through line between the glorification and endorsement of violence that is happening in right-wing political circles and the usage of violence against black, brown, gay, lesbian, transgender Americans. The folks who are out there glorifying violence, that are part of Trump’s movement, they are sending a signal of endorsement to people who think that they can deal with the demons by taking out violence on people that they hate. But the second piece of this is related to your opening. You talked about the scapegoating of the mentally ill. It’s really important to point out that you don’t have to be mentally ill to be racist.”
PSAKI: “It’s not the same thing.”
MURPHY: “There are plenty of people who are not mentally ill, who are hateful and prejudiced towards minorities and vulnerable populations in this country. So, it is just not true to look at many of these hate crimes and just write that away as a consequence of mental illness. There’s a difference between mental illness and racism. And the folks that are distributing this racist hate material, they have to be held accountable for that.”