The belligerent reaction of two leading Republicans, Senator JD Vance, who is tipped as a possible vice president for Donald Trump, and the far-right Marjorie Taylor Greene, barely broke the unanimity in condemning the failed attack on Donald Trump, this Saturday in Butler (Pennsylvania). But once the initial stupor was over, the irreconcilable difference between the two parties soon became apparent, as they blamed each other for the attack. Some Democrats were quick to point out that Trump has used incendiary rhetoric and downplayed political violence for years, including the assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021 by a horde of his supporters and the brutal attack on Paul Pelosi, the husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who yesterday unreservedly condemned the attempted assassination of the Republican, a failed attack that has redefined the electoral campaign in the United States.
Many Republicans, for their part, have blamed President Joe Biden and his fellow Republicans for the climate of political violence, arguing that the sustained attacks on Trump, presenting him as a threat to democracy — one of the main ideas of the president’s campaign — have created a toxic environment. Through messages on social media, many Republicans recalled a comment Biden made on Monday at a fundraiser: “It’s time to put Trump in the crosshairs.” After being treated in a hospital for the wound to his right ear, Trump called for unity and showed his determination to participate in the Republican national convention that starts on Monday in Milwaukee (Wisconsin).
The cross-party solidarity lasted only a few hours, if not minutes, but the political battle was underway even as details of the attack remained unknown. Senator Vance accused Democrats of having encouraged violence with their anti-Trump rhetoric, and far-right Senator Marjorie Taylor Greene agreed with her colleague, saying that Democrats wanted “this to happen.” “The central premise of the Biden campaign is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs,” Vance said. “That rhetoric led directly to the attempted assassination of President Trump,” he added. vice presidential candidatejust two hours after the shooting. “You will make a perfect Trump VP. Shame on you,” former Illinois Republican Congressman Joe Walsh also posted on X, calling Vance’s comments “disgusting.”
“Democrats wanted this to happen,” Greene posted on X. “They have wanted Trump gone for years and are willing to do anything to make that happen.” The far-right activist, who like Vance will be speaking at the Republican national convention, damningly reminded members of Congress that they “co-sponsored legislation to END Trump’s Secret Service protection. Why would they want that? You know the reason.” Taylor Greene was repudiated by Congress in 2021 but is one of Trump’s biggest allies.
The post, written before it was confirmed that one rally attendee had died, continued: “Others may have been killed, innocent people who were there supporting President Trump and all they wanted was to Make America Great Again [el lema del movimiento MAGA, por sus siglas en inglés, de Trump] and may have been killed for it. Thank GOD the Secret Service was there for Trump and everyone else at today’s rally.”
Republican Rep. Mike Collins of Georgia was also quick to attack Democrats in the aftermath of the shooting, claiming that “Joe Biden sent the orders” in a tweet quoting the Democrat’s Monday statement that he targeted Trump. That day, as the president sought to dispel questions about his suitability as a reelection candidate and questions from reporters about his age, he said, “I have one job, and that is to defeat Donald Trump. I am absolutely confident that I am the best person to do it. So we are done talking about the debate.” [sobre su candidatura]it is time to put Trump in the crosshairs.” Collins even called for the Republican prosecutor of Butler County, where the attack was carried out, “to immediately bring charges against Joseph R. Biden for inciting murder.” Biden condemned the violence and the attempted assassination of Trump in an extraordinary appearance on Saturday afternoon. “There is no place for this kind of violence in America. It is disgusting. It is one of the reasons why we have to unite this country,” declared the president in terms not too different from those used by his adversary.
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Despite the swift condemnation by many Democrats, there is fear in President Biden’s party that the assassination attempt will feed into the narrative of persecution that Trump has placed at the center of his campaign. On social media, there was a constant reminder of a statement by the Republican after his first federal indictment last summer: “In the end, they’re not coming for me. They’re coming for you, and I’m just standing in their way,” Trump told his supporters. The quote is the main headline on his campaign homepage and is plastered on a wall at Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum, the main hall of the Republican Party convention.
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