And there’s plenty more where that came from. Before that, Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum told a group of schoolchildren that “the left” only criticizes the Crusades because “they hate Christendom.” Santorum, too, held that the Crusades were purely a defensive war against Islamic aggression. That remark sparked a vigorous response from the right, focusing primarily around a defense of the medieval Crusades. Last year, during his speech at the National Prayer Breakfast, President Barack Obama mentioned the fact that all religious groups have perpetrated violent acts throughout history, citing the Crusades as evidence. Clay Higgins (R-La.) wrote on Facebook that “all of Christendom … is at war with Islamic horror” and that the only solution is to “kill them all.” This wasn’t the first time. Shortly after news of the attack in London spread, a writer at the white nationalist website Breitbart tweeted that “ the crusades need to come back.” He quickly deleted the tweet, but a TownHall columnist shared that he, too, thought that “ Christians were the unequivocal good guys in the Crusades” and that he “supported” the Crusades. Frequently these kinds of statements refer back - longingly - to the Crusades.