Vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance said Democrats need to “stop this nonsense” and tone down their rhetoric in his first public comments since a second possible assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
“The big difference between conservatives and liberals is that nobody has tried to assassinate Kamala Harris in the last few months,” Vance said. “And two people have tried to assassinate Donald Trump in the last few months.”
He added: “I would say this is pretty strong evidence that the left needs to tone down the rhetoric and cut out this nonsense. Someone is going to get hurt by it and it’s going to destroy this country.”
Speaking at the Faith and Freedom Coalition in Atlanta, Vance concluded his speech by acknowledging that this was his first public appearance since authorities arrested a suspect found at Trump International Golf Course in Florida with an AK-47-style rifle, two backpacks and a GoPro. Federal authorities are investigating the incident as a possible assassination attempt on the former president. Vance took the opportunity to “call for a reduction in the ridiculous and incendiary political rhetoric.”
Vance also pledged to do his part to tone down the rhetoric, before adding that people who say Trump should be eliminated should specifically stop doing so, a reference to the words of New York Rep. Dan Goldman, who has since apologized. Vance’s comments come after he stoked rumors about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, eating pets. On Monday afternoon, Gov. Mike DeWine said there had been more than 30 bomb threats at elementary schools, hospitals and City Hall in Springfield in the wake of Trump and others’ Haitian comments.
“I know it’s popular on many corners of the left to say we have a problem on both sides,” Vance said. “And I’m not going to say we’re perfect all the time. I’m not going to say conservatives get everything right all the time.”
Vance’s comments were more moderate than those of Trump, who said Monday that Harris and President Joe Biden’s rhetoric “is getting me shot, when I’m the one who’s going to save the country, and they’re the ones destroying the country.” Other Trump allies also attempted to blame Democrats for the potential assassination attempt, including Dan Scavino, who responded to Harris’ statement about the incident by posting on social media, “You’re not happy he’s safe – it’s your rhetoric that caused this AGAIN!!!!!”
Following the alleged assassination attempt, Harris released a statement saying she was shocked by the incident and condemned political violence. Harris’ campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Moments after the event, Vance a long statement about Xin which he continued his calls to moderate the rhetoric, but specifically called on Americans to “reject censorship” and blamed the media for their coverage of the Haitian migrants in Springfield and the possible attempted murder in West Palm Beach.
“When I ask you to ‘tone down the rhetoric,’ it’s not about being nice — our citizens have every right to be mean, even when I don’t like it — or about empty platitudes,” Vance said in a statement. “Instead, I’m asking all of us to reject censorship. Reject the idea that you can control what other people think and say.”
He later added: “It’s one thing to say that pets shouldn’t be eaten, and another thing to say that anyone who disagrees is trying to kill people. Dissenting opinions, even vigorous dissent, are a great tradition in the United States. Censorship is not.”
Vance also argued that Americans must “reject censorship” to “reject political violence” and vowed to “defend their right to express their views.”
And after defending his efforts to put Springfield in the national spotlight over the weekend, Vance again denied responsibility for the bomb threats and instead blamed the media for its coverage of Springfield, saying, “The double standard is breathtaking.”
“The threat of violence is, of course, outrageous, but the media seems to relish it. They report on a bomb threat, not on the increase in murders,” Vance said in a statement. “They report on the threat, not on the rising insurance rates or the car crashes they caused. They report on the threat, not on the shortcomings of Kamala Harris’ leadership.”
