The Hill News

The political atmosphere in California and across the country is far too hostile, especially with regard to President Obama, California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) said Thursday.

Brown, who took office earlier this month, said, according to The Associated Press, that "the attacks on President Obama go beyond what is usual."

Brown's comments are some of the latest made by politicians and political observers since the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.). Since that incident, some have blamed a heated and excessively aggressive political climate and rhetoric for causing or contributing to the shooting. 

Critics of the political atmosphere have called for a cooling-down of the rhetoric. 

Brown was speaking t! o a group of black lawmakers in Sacramento. He said the nation needed to end the extreme level of partisanship, especially during the week of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday.