Trump called for ‘unity’ after first assassination attempt. Not this time.

Source: Politico | September 17, 2024 | Lisa Kashinsky, Meridith McGraw and Alex Isenstadt

The incident came up only briefly on a regularly scheduled call with surrogates and advisers.

Donald Trump briefly followed the first attempt on his life with calls for unity.

This time he’s going straight to a far more brazen message: Democrats’ rhetoric put my life in danger.

In interviews, social media posts and campaign messages in the first 24 hours after Secret Service opened fire on a suspected gunman hiding in the bushes around Trump’s Florida golf club, the former president and his allies accused Democrats of spending years stoking threats and violence against the Republican nominee by labeling him a threat to democracy.

It’s a strategy Trump’s advisers view as a way to hold Democrats accountable for rhetoric they argue — without evidence — has endangered the former president.

Still, Trump’s aides have made clear they would press ahead with events as scheduled — before the incident becomes a longer-term distraction for a candidate struggling to stay on message 49 days before the election.

During a campaign “stakeholders call” with surrogates and advisers on Monday, Trump campaign senior advisers Susie Wiles, Chris LaCivita and Tony Fabrizio briefly addressed the apparent attempted assassination before moving on to polling numbers, messaging and Trump’s upcoming schedule, according to a person who took part.

“They spoke about it for a minute in a manner of complete recognition that this is the reality that we are in,” said the person, who was granted anonymity to describe internal discussions. “This is the new reality of American politics.”

A Trump adviser, granted anonymity to speak freely, lamented that the threats to Trump’s life mean the campaign is going to be “talking about whether or not he’s going to be shot next week. We’re not going to be talking about issues.”

Trump’s immediate incriminations against Democrats represent a marked departure from his reaction after a gunman opened fire in July at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, injuring the former president and two others and killing an attendee. With a nation stunned and a campaign all but paused, Trump was described by allies as “softened” and “reflective” as he called for the country to come together.

But Trump soon reverted to form. On the final night of the Republican National Convention, the nominee’s calls for unity quickly gave way to familiar campaign attack lines as Trump veered off the script his team had redrafted in the wake of the shooting. In the weeks that followed, he began blaming his opponents and amplifying conspiracy theories that grew from the shooting.

Now, after a possible second assassination attempt, Trump appears fully committed to chastising his political opponents. After a few messages urging “unity” and “peace,” the former president moved to blaming his rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, and his former foe, President Joe Biden, for inspiring the alleged shooter, Ryan Routh, though a motive in the incident remains unclear.

“He believed the rhetoric of Biden and Harris, and he acted on it,” Trump said in an interview Monday with Fox News Digital. “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.”

His campaign followed suit, circulating a laundry list of “incendiary” remarks Democrats have made against Trump and posting a web video with clips from top Democrats calling the former president a “threat.” An email from his joint fundraising committee accused Harris of “trying to incite the most extreme elements in her base.”

Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, amplified that message during a speech at a Faith & Freedom Coalition event in Georgia.

“The big difference between conservatives and liberals is that no one has tried to kill Kamala Harris in the last couple of months, and two people now have tried to kill Donald Trump in the last couple of months. I’d say that’s pretty strong evidence that the left needs to tone down the rhetoric and needs to cut this crap out,” Vance said. “Somebody’s gonna get hurt by it.”

Trump’s allies echoed the former president online and on television. “When will [Harris] take accountability for her & her party’s rhetoric of incitement?” Trump policy adviser Stephen Miller posted on X.

“You’re so full of shit, you’re not glad he is safe,” posted Dan Scavino, a close aide to Trump, in response to Harris’ statement about the incident. “It is your rhetoric that has caused this, AGAIN!!!!!”

The Harris campaign has not responded to Republicans’ claims. But in the hours after the incident, the vice president praised law enforcement and condemned political violence. It’s a message Democrats across the party have largely echoed, even as some note Trump has long used inflammatory language and false claims to energize his base and has in recent days threatened to prosecute and imprison adversaries who he perceives as engaging in “unscrupulous behavior” in the election.

“This is a tragic situation. It never should’ve happened. But Donald Trump I think in a lot of ways wants to figure out how to gain electoral advantage out of it,’” said Pat Dennis, president of American Bridge 21st Century, a top Democratic super PAC. “There is strong evidence that his argument is not in good faith. Donald Trump has historically stoked a real threat of violence against his political enemies.”

Within Trump’s campaign, advisers discussing the response to the incident on Monday were supportive of the former president’s messaging, saying they agreed with it, according to a Trump adviser familiar with the conversations and granted anonymity to speak freely.

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