Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” that Democrats’ political rhetoric against former President Donald Trump had “incited dangerous people to do dangerous things.”
Johnson said, “I just saw the clip so I didn’t watch all the remarks from Pennsylvania. I will tell you I talked to President Trump right after it. He was pleased. They had a massive crowd and a lot of enthusiasm and energy. I didn’t hear all the comments. I don’t know the context. The clip that I just heard that you just played there, George, I don’t think they’re saying that the Democratic Party tried an assassination attempt.”
He added, “I think what they’re alluding to is what they’ve all been saying. They have got to turn the rhetoric down. For years now, the leading Democrats in this country, the highest elected officials and the current nominee for president have gone out and said that Donald Trump is a threat to democracy, that the republic will end if he’s re-elected. It’s absolute nonsense, and they have incited dangerous people to do dangerous things. The rhetoric has. I think that is a fact that’s objective that everybody can agree to. We do need to turn the volume down. We have to have vigorous debates about policy, but not take it to that level. No one involved in this is a threat to the republic.”
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