The gunman, identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, PA, was shot and killed by federal agents very soon after the attempted assassination.
It was unclear whether Mr. Trump was injured by a bullet or by a stray shard from the teleprompter. One rally attendee was fatally shot by the would-be assassin.
Republicans Blame Biden
Strangely, Crooks was registered as a Republican, as is Mr. Trump. And while the Secret Service and other agencies have not determined the shooter’s motive, right-wing Republicans immediately asserted, without any evidence, that President Joe Biden was responsible. Several senators who were on Trump’s short list of potential vice-presidential nominees—including J.D. Vance of Ohio, who got the nod from Trump the following Monday, and Tim Scott of S. Carolina—almost immediately claimed the shooter was doing the work of left-wing activists.
Vance wrote, “The central premise of the Biden campaign is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs. That rhetoric led directly to President Trump’s attempted assassination.”
Scott wrote on one of his social media accounts, “Let’s be clear: This was an assassination attempt aided and abetted by the radical Left and corporate media incessantly calling Trump a threat to democracy, fascists, or worse.”
Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) wrote on his X account, Joe Biden sent the orders,” later adding, “The Republican District Attorney in Butler County, Pa., should immediately file charges against Joe Biden for inciting an assassination.”
Democrats Condemn Political Violence
President Biden and every Democratic office-holder who weighed in condemned the shooting in strong terms, with many of them calling for stronger gun laws—laws that Republicans have vehemently opposed for decades. President Biden called the attempt “sick,” and reasserted that…
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