Before the suspect was identified, Joe Walsh -- radio host, ex-congressman, and Islamophobe -- tweeted this:


Killer used a car & a machete.

Looks like Muslim terror. A car & a knife is their modus operandi.

Ask Israel. https://t.co/LSfDy2rm4p

— Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) November 28, 2016

Donald Trump won the presidency three weeks ago. He was a dangerous demagogue as a candidate for a year and a half before that, and a divisive blowhard from the time he became a regular Fox commentator in 2011. But this is the first breaking news event since Trump became president-elect that offers him the clear choice of responsible leadership or racism directed at an entire group of people. He's not speaking as a celebrity turned amateur pundit anymore, nor is he a fluke presidential candidate running as a longshot -- now he's speaking for America, and his words will give us a sense of how the U.S. government will respond over the next four (or eight) years at moments like this.

I'm expecting the worst. I'm expecting group slander and calls for collective punishment. I'm expecting him to make no effort to warn off vigilantes or hatemongers. It's going to be ugly.