President-elect Donald Trump told people to stop bullying and harassing minorities after news outlets reported a spike in intimidation following his surprising win last week.
“I am very surprised to hear that. I hate to hear it. I mean, I hate to hear that,” said Trump during a "60 Minutes" interview on Sunday night in a wide-ranging conversation that touched on healthcare, the second amendment, ISIS and the LGBTQ community.
NPR on Sunday reported an increase in bullying and harassment of minority students in schools around the United States. Women in hijabs also said they were harassed and intimidated following the election according to a story published on CBS News.
At San Diego State University, a female student with a hijab was robbed in a parking building on Wednesday according to campus police and the attackers, authorities said, made comments about Trump and the Muslim community.
When pressed by CBS correspondent Lesley Stahl about the harassment, Trump said his message to people doing it would be: "I would say, 'Don't do it.' That's terrible. I'm so saddened to see it and I say, 'Stop it.'"
Trump said he hadn't heard much about the bullying and called some of the protesters "professional protestors." When Stahl told him that people were afraid of him being their president, he told them to give him a chance.
"That’s only because they don’t know me," said Trump. "I would tell them, 'Don't be afraid.' I'm saying it, I've been saying it. Don't be afraid. We are going to bring our country back, but certainly don't be afraid."
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