Hours after the attempt on Donald Trump’s life, Republican lawmakers quickly pointed fingers at Joe Biden and the Democratic Party.
Senator J.D. Vance, a key Trump ally, accused Biden’s rhetoric of inciting the attack that left Trump wounded and one bystander dead during a Pennsylvania rally. Vance’s assertion was echoed by other Republicans, despite the FBI’s ongoing investigation into the shooter’s motives.
This incident further ignites an already tense political climate. Michael Bailey, a political science professor at Georgetown University, noted that both parties have contributed to heated rhetoric, but Republicans have often intertwined their messaging with gun imagery. Trump himself has previously mocked violent incidents involving Democrats, such as the 2022 attack on Nancy Pelosi’s husband by a conspiracy theorist.
Steve Scalise, who survived a 2017 shooting by a left-wing activist, also blamed Democrats for the recent attempt on Trump’s life. Trump campaign adviser Chris LaCivita accused Biden and his supporters of making inflammatory remarks about Trump, referencing Biden’s comment about putting Trump “in the bullseye.”
Representative Mike Collins and Marjorie Taylor Greene took it a step further, with Greene framing the incident as a battle between “good and evil” and labeling Democrats as perpetrators of violence.
This wave of accusations risks overshadowing the bipartisan condemnation of the attack, said Jacob Ware from the Council on Foreign Relations.
In response to the escalating rhetoric, President Biden made a rare address from the Oval Office, urging Americans to “lower the temperature.” Both Biden and Trump called for calm, and Biden’s campaign paused television ads to encourage a national cooling-off period.
“Tensions are high, and we need to tone down the rhetoric,” said Martin Kutzler, a Trump supporter in Milwaukee, where the Republican convention is about to begin. Republican National Committee chair Michael Whately echoed this sentiment, urging Americans to pause and reflect.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, however, continued to highlight the divisive rhetoric, suggesting it heats up the political environment. Bailey emphasized the need to depoliticize the incident, warning that in a country with widespread access to guns, heated rhetoric can motivate unbalanced individuals on any side.
