In an interview with Fox News following the second suspected assassination attempt against him while playing golf in Florida on Sunday, 2024 GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump attributed the attack to the rhetoric of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Referring to the suspect, Ryan Wesley Routh, who was arrested after fleeing the scene, Trump said, “He believed the rhetoric of Biden and Harris, and he acted on it. 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 destroying it—both from the inside and out.”
Trump criticized statements from Biden and Harris, who have portrayed him as a “threat to democracy,” while presenting themselves as leaders of “unity.” “They are the opposite,” Trump said. “These are people who want to destroy our country. It’s called the enemy from within. They are the real threat.”
Trump also linked the attack to a broader pattern of legal challenges he is facing, saying, “They do it with a combination of rhetoric and lawsuits they wrap me up in. These are the things dangerous fools, like the shooter, listen to—and the same with the first one.”
In a post on Truth Social, Trump expanded on his thoughts, writing, “The Rhetoric, Lies, as exemplified by the false statements made by Comrade Kamala Harris during the rigged and highly partisan ABC Debate, and all of the ridiculous lawsuits specifically designed to inflict damage on Joe’s, then Kamala’s, Political Opponent, ME, has taken politics in our Country to a whole new level of Hatred, Abuse, and Distrust. Because of this Communist Left Rhetoric, the bullets are flying, and it will only get worse!”
He further called for action on immigration, stating that the U.S. borders “must be closed” and all “terrorists, criminals, and mentally insane” should be deported to their countries of origin. “We want people to come into our country, but they must love our nation and come in legally through a system of merit. The world is laughing at us as fools. They are stealing our jobs and our wealth. We cannot let them laugh any longer. Make America great again!”
This is a second assassination attempt after the first that happened 2 months ago.
