N.J. Democrat ignites right wing by saying assassination attempt stemmed from GOP rhetoric, ‘availability of assault rifles’

Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.) tore into Republicans as many of them blame the Democrats’ rhetoric for the second assassination attempt on former President Trump.

Trump was the target of an apparent assassination attempt while he was golfing at his resort in Florida on Sunday. No one was hurt, but Trump has since blamed Democrat rhetoric for the second attempt on his life in just two months.

CNN’s Jim Acosta on Monday asked Sherrill Monday whether the protection around the former president needs to change in the wake of the latest incident. She suggested that the attempted assassination stemmed from the GOP’s rhetoric and the availability of assault rifles in the country.

“This really seems to be the confluence of two very bad things going on in the Republican Party. On one side, the attempts to divide, to enrage the population, to put out false rumors and misinformation. We know the mayor in Springfield is begging the Republican Party to stop with the false information on immigrants. They have portions of the town on lockdown at this point and an increase in all of the partisanship and the fear-mongering that’s going on,” she said on Monday.

“And then on the other side, we have this complete availability of assault rifles too. It seems almost anyone who wants to have access. So, how did this man who already had some convictions for barricading himself with a weapon have access to weapons of war that I was trained on when I was in the military?” she added.

Sherrill was later asked to respond to Rep. Anna Paulina Luna’s (R-Fla.) tweet that pinned the blame for the assassination attempt on the “radical left” for its “irresponsible rhetoric.” Acosta also pointed to a post from Trump aide Dan Scavino who also blamed Vice President Harris’s rhetoric for the incident.

Sherrill responded by saying that the GOP is the only party that is ramping up the rhetoric.

“The rhetoric is getting amped up to very volatile levels on one side of the aisle. That is getting amped up by the GOP, Republicans, MAGA Republicans, by Donald Trump,” she said.

She emphasized that she is “personally very happy that Donald Trump is okay and she does “not want in our democratic society for people to commit political violence.”

“So again and again, we see from Republicans, we see from Donald Trump this inability to govern, an inability to bring people together, an inability to put this country first, and a constant desire again and again and again to put Trump first, his agenda first, which is largely bad for America,” she added.

Both Harris and Biden condemned the latest incident. Biden told reporters on Monday that the Secret Service needs “more help”and urged Congress to take action.

Authorities say Ryan Wesley Routh camped outside the golf course in West Palm Beach, where Trump was playing on Sunday, for nearly 12 hours with food and a rifle but fled without firing shots when a Secret Service agent spotted and shot at him.

Subsequently arrested, Routh’s past online posts suggest the suspect has not been consistent about his politics in terms of supporting Democrats or Republicans.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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