Trump blames Harris, Democrat ‘rhetoric’ for second assassination attempt in latest screed

Donald Trump has blamed Vice President Kamala Harris and Democratic “rhetoric” for the second apparent assassination attempt against him on Sunday.

Trump claimed that “bullets are flying” because of “Communist Left Rhetoric” in his latest social media rant, posted Monday afternoon. The post comes a day after Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was arrested after federal officials said he aimed an SKS-style rifle through the bushes at Trump National Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, while the former president was golfing.

Routh, who is facing two gun-related charges, appeared in court on Monday.

“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,” Trump posted on Monday afternoon.

Two hours earlier, Fox News published an exclusive interview with the former president, during which he made similar claims.

“He believed the rhetoric of Biden and Harris, and he acted on it,” Trump told Fox News, referring to the suspected gunman. “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 that are destroying the country — both from the inside and out.”

“They do it with a combination of rhetoric and lawsuits they wrap me up in,” he added. “These are the things that dangerous fools, like the shooter, listen to — that is the rhetoric they listen to, and the same with the first one.”

Harris, for her part, condemned the potential assassination attempt against Trump on Sunday.

“I am deeply disturbed by the possible assassination attempt of former President Trump today,” she said in a statement. “As we gather the facts, I will be clear: I condemn political violence. We all must do our part to ensure that this incident does not lead to more to violence.”

Trump also repeated his claim that his debate against Harris was unfair, calling it “so biased and so out of control.”

The former president has railed against ABC News and his Democratic opponent since the debate last week, repeatedly criticizing the network and moderators for fact-checking his false claims.

Moderator Linsey Davis fact-checked Trump’s false claim that Democrats want to “execute” babies during the abortion segment of the debate. Meanwhile, moderator David Muir fact-checked Trump’s claim that crime is rising in the US and his conspiracy theory that Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, are eating pet cats and dogs.

The former president, alongside allies like Senator JD Vance and Representative Jim Jordan, have spread the debunked conspiracy theory across social media.

“ABC News did reach out to the city manager there,” Muir said during the debate. “He told us there had been no credible reports of specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community.”

“Well, I’ve seen people on television. People on television say, ‘My dog was taken and used for food,’ so maybe he said that and maybe that’s a good thing to say for a city manager,” Trump responded, continuing to peddle the false claim.

In the wake of the false claims, a bomb threat was made in Springfield on Thursday. The threat forced the evacuation of city hall and two schools.

The threat explicitly “used hateful language towards immigrants and Haitians in our community,” officials said.

The Independent has contacted Harris’s campaign for comment.