Former President Donald Trump said that extreme rhetoric from President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris directly led to a second assassination attempt on his life over the weekend.
Authorities arrested 58-year-old Ryan Routh — a Democrat donor with a criminal history — on Sunday as he hid in shrubbery with an AK-47-style rifle hundreds of yards away from the Republican presidential nominee at Trump International Golf Course West Palm Beach.
“He believed the rhetoric of Biden and Harris, and he acted on it,” Trump told Fox News on Monday morning. “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.”
“These are people that want to destroy our country,” he added. “It is called the enemy from within. They are the real threat.”
Trump said that Democrats and the media incite attempts on his life through a “combination” of actions they take against him, including extreme rhetoric, lies, and lawfare.
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“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,” he said, later adding: “The media is made up of fools that will spew [Democrats’] garbage and spew their sick philosophies and will protect them at all costs, and they can’t believe they get away with it. Democrats are totally protected by the media.”
In a post late Sunday night, Trump thanked all of the relevant law enforcement agencies that helped keep him safe.
“I would like to thank everyone for your concern and well wishes – It was certainly an interesting day!” Trump wrote on social media. “Most importantly, I want to thank the U.S. Secret Service, Sheriff Ric Bradshaw and his Office of brave and dedicated Patriots, and, all of Law Enforcement, for the incredible job done today at Trump International in keeping me, as the 45th President of the United States, and the Republican Nominee in the upcoming Presidential Election, SAFE.”
“THE JOB DONE WAS ABSOLUTELY OUTSTANDING,” he added. “I AM VERY PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!”
