Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) ripped Donald Trump on Wednesday after the president said he’d label violence against Tesla dealerships as “domestic terrorism” as the company faces backlash over billionaire Elon Musk’s cost-cutting crusade.
Trump, who praised Tesla electric vehicles alongside Musk outside the White House earlier this week, vowed that protesters who target the company with violence would be caught and “go through hell” as a result.
Moulton, in an interview with CNN’s Audie Cornish, was asked about the Trump administration labeling acts that go “beyond vandalism” toward Tesla as domestic terrorism and whether this is what “resistance should look like.”
“So, Trump thinks that if you try to kill cops to overthrow the government and change an election that’s not domestic terrorism, but somehow having a protest in front of a Tesla dealership is?” said Moulton, referring to the president’s forgiveness and adoration for rioters linked to the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, attacks.
“The bottom line with Trump is freedom and liberties belong to people who agree with him and that’s it, that’s his view of America. That’s not a view that people who believe in our Constitution share.”
Protests have hit Tesla dealerships across the country in recent weeks as its CEO’s chainsaw-like approach to cuts in the federal budget has sparked backlash among Americans.
A number of the demonstrations have been peaceful — including those tied to the “Tesla Takedown” organization that have popped up in cities nationwide — while some dealerships and charging stations have seen vehicles vandalized as well as damaged by fires and gunfire.
Forbes has detailed a rundown of the protests.
Tuesday’s question on Tesla outside the White House stemmed from Brian Glenn, a correspondent for the right-wing Real America’s Voice out and the boyfriend of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.).
Glenn has called for protests against the company to be shut down “immediately” on social media while Greene has pushed for attacks against Tesla to be “investigated as domestic terrorism.”
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On Tuesday, a White House spokesperson stated that the “ongoing and heinous acts of violence against Tesla by radical Leftist activists are nothing short of domestic terror.”
The world’s wealthiest man — who “has been treated very unfairly,” according to Trump — echoed the president’s remarks on his X platform, as well.