Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
In the aftermath of a second thwarted assassination attempt against Donald Trump, Republicans have again begun to point fingers at their Democratic counterparts, blaming their words for the attempts on Trump’s life.
Among those making this claim most forcefully is Ohio senator J.D. Vance, who, this past weekend, argued that the lack of assassination attempts directed at the Democratic ticket is proof that liberals are wielding more harmful rhetoric than their counterparts. “I know it’s popular on a lot of corners of the left to say that we have a both-sides problem. And I’m not going to say we’re always perfect. I’m not going to say that conservatives always get things exactly right. But, you know, the big difference between conservatives and liberals is that we have — no one has tried to kill Kamala Harris in the last couple of months, and two people now have tried to kill Donald Trump in the last couple of months,” Vance said to the crowd at the Georgia Faith & Freedom Coalition dinner in Atlanta.
During those same remarks, Vance said he would “do my part” to lower the temperature, but in recent days the senator has continued to ratchet up his criticism of Vice-President Harris, looking to tie her to the most recent attack. In a lengthy social-media post, Vance noted that the alleged suspect in Sunday’s attempt, Ryan Routh, donated to Democratic causes multiple times and used similar wording as Harris in the past, when he once wrote on his now-suspended X account that “democracy is on the ballot.”
“How do you think the Democrats and their media allies would respond if a 19-time Republican donor tried to kill a Democratic official? It’s a question that answers itself,” Vance said.
Routh’s political leanings are not as clear-cut as Vance suggests. The 58-year-old suspect, who is currently facing two federal charges, previously expressed support for former congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and indicated that he backed Trump in 2016. The shooter in the July attempt on Trump, Thomas Crooks, was a registered Republican and was said to have researched politicians and figures on both sides of the aisle, including President Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland, before his attack.
Vance is largely echoing the words of his running mate, who is also placing the blame for the attempts on his life on his Democratic rivals. “Their rhetoric is causing me to be shot at when I am the one who is going to save the country and they are the ones that are destroying the country — both from the inside and out,” Trump said during an interview with Fox News on Monday, citing no specific evidence of his claim.
In the immediate aftermath of Sunday’s arrest, Biden and Harris both issued statements denouncing political violence and expressing relief that Trump was unharmed from the incident. “I am deeply disturbed by the possible assassination attempt of former President Trump today. As we gather the facts, I will be clear: I condemn political violence. We all must do our part to ensure that this incident does not lead to more violence,” Harris said.
The intensifying rhetoric following Sunday’s incident has extended beyond the Republican presidential ticket. Elon Musk deleted a highly criticized post on his social-media platform, X, that questioned why there haven’t been any attempts on Biden’s life or Harris’s. “And no one is even trying to assassinate Biden/Kamala,” he wrote in response to a user who asked why someone would try to kill Trump.
In subsequent posts, Musk insisted his deleted comment was a joke, but the White House later condemned his words, calling them “irresponsible.” CNN reports that the Secret Service, which investigates any and all potential threats against its protectees, has seen Musk’s post.
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