Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, responded Sunday to Eric Trump’s suggestion that his father’s Democratic opponents were to blame for the incident. . Attempt on former President Trump’s lifesaid the insinuation was “of course” inaccurate, but that political candidates on both sides of the aisle “need to escalate” their rhetoric.
During a recent appearance on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” Turner was asked if he believed there was any truth to the claims made by the former president, his son Eric, and his running mate for vice president. “Of course not,” he replied. My colleague, Senator J.D. Vance; at a meeting Each implied or suggested that Democrats tried to kill him.
President Trump returned to Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday to speak to supporters gathered at the Butler Farm Show venue, the site of his July 13 rally. assassination attempt against him. Authorities say a gunman fired a gun at President Trump from the podium at the rally, firing into the crowd and hitting Trump in the ear, killing one attendee and injuring two others. of gunman killed Officials said the attack was carried out by a Secret Service sniper.
another clear assassination attempt The incident occurred in September when a suspect pointed a gun at Trump on a course in Florida where he was playing golf. The FBI has opened an investigation into both incidents.
CBS News
Mr. Trump and his son, Mr. Vance, acknowledged the assassination attempt on Mr. Butler at a campaign event on Saturday.
“For the past eight years, those who have sought to prevent us from achieving this future have slandered me, impeached me, tried to remove me from the ballot, and perhaps even tried to kill me.” the former president said. Eric Trump claimed that his father’s political opponents “tried to kill my father because Democrats can’t do anything right.”
In his remarks, Vance referenced Trump’s Democratic presidential challenger, Vice President Kamala Harris, and suggested the Republican candidate had “taken a bullet for democracy.”
Brennan asked Turner: “Are you trying to imply anything here that suggests Eric Trump’s claims that Democrats are trying to kill him?”
“No, of course not,” Turner replied. “But I think Vice President Harris needs to proactively state and acknowledge that the administration is claiming that foreign powers are actively trying to kill our adversaries. That would be an act of war. .”
The attempt on Trump’s life came after a Pakistani national with ties to Iran was arrested and charged with plotting a murder-for-hire plot against Trump and others. nevertheless Billing timing Although carried out at the same time as the first attempt, there was no indication that the two incidents were related.
Turner criticized Harris for failing to publicly denounce the conspiracy allegations.
“I certainly think she and the president have a role to play in this regard in terms of recognizing that there is a threat to Donald Trump and identifying what needs to be recognized and addressed to deter it.” he said. “I think all candidates certainly need to loosen up their language.”
But the congressman acknowledged that Biden-Harris Justice Department official Matthew Olsen, head of the national security division, said: The US government is “We are closely tracking Iran’s deadly plot targeting former and current U.S. government officials, including the former president.”
“I can tell you that we are very concerned and deeply concerned about Iranian conspiracies.” Olsen told CBS News in a recent interview..