Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie on Sunday blamed Donald Trump for a rise in hate speech and anti-Semitism in the U.S.
Christie explained his theory to CNN's Dana Bash.
"When you show intolerance towards everyone, which is what he does, you give permission as a leader for others to have their intolerance come out," Christie said. "And so, you know, intolerance towards anyone encourages intolerance towards everyone. And that's exactly what's going on here."
But Christie also blamed universities "who have been unwilling to stand up against anti-Semitism on their campuses."
"These are folks who are ignorant," he insisted. "And when they talk about intifada, my guess is two-thirds of them don't even know what intifada is. And if they did, they'd be ashamed of themselves for calling for the elimination of the Jewish people around the world, which is what intifada is."
"I think that there have been a lot of people who contributed to it," he added. "And I believe Donald Trump's intolerant language and his intolerant conduct gives others permission to act the same."
