In a recent appearance on "Fox & Friends Weekend," House Majority Leader Steve Scalise pointed a finger at the left and the media, accusing them of fueling the rhetoric that led to the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump and the congressional baseball shooting in which he himself was a target.
He praised the former President for his resilience, describing him as "strong" and lauding his efforts in "fighting for a movement."
"Everybody's got to look at the rhetoric. But, you know, it's one side that is going after Donald Trump in a way to demonize him personally," Scalise said, as reported by Fox News. He continued, "You know, when we talk about the policies of the Democrats and the progressives, it's those policies that need to be front and center. But the left seems to have targeted Donald Trump as a person. They don't talk about how they don't like his tax and border policies. They just go after him personally. They demonize him. It's a weaponization that is dangerous."
Scalise didn't stop at criticizing the left, he also took aim at the mainstream media. "The mainstream media does it, too. They've got to look in the mirror, and they can't be immune from this because it's been an all-out assault on Donald Trump, the person, for years now. And it adds up," he said. He recalled his own experience with a shooter, attributing the violence to the rhetoric from the left. "I mean, I saw this myself when the shooter went out on the baseball field to kill all of us as Republicans. The rhetoric from the left was what charged the shooter. And it was very violent rhetoric. It was rhetoric that's not even true about Republicans. And that's what's being said."
The world was stunned on Saturday when an assassination attempt was made on former President Trump during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The presumptive Republican nominee narrowly escaped death in an incident that left him with a bleeding ear. Despite the shock and injury, Trump displayed his characteristic defiance, raising his fist to the crowd before being led offstage.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, information was sparse and prone to distortion. However, as the dust settled, authorities were able to confirm key details. The suspected gunman was identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, a Pennsylvania native who resided roughly an hour away from the rally site in Bethel Park.
Scalise concluded his remarks with a call for change. "Now, again, it's got to stop. They do it all the time, and they just kind of act like, well, you know, it's somebody else. It's society. It's not society. All it takes is one unhinged person, but that one unhinged person is acting on things specifically that are said by the left. That's what's got to stop." The question remains: will this incident serve as a wake-up call, prompting a shift in the rhetoric and personal attacks that have become all too common in today's political landscape?
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