A handful of Democratic hopefuls are under scrutiny for comments made before the apparent third assassination attempt against President Donald Trump that appeared to support violence against Republicans.
Political rhetoric, particularly the kind that skews toward violent or aggressive imagery from Democrats, and its role in political violence have time and again come under the microscope during Trump’s second term in office.
After the apparent third assassination attempt against Trump over the weekend, in which alleged shooter Cole Allen was subdued by federal law enforcement during the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in Washington, D.C., the Senate’s campaign arm is putting a spotlight on aggressive comments three hopefuls, Graham Platner, Abdul El-Sayed and former Gov. Roy Cooper, made in the past.
REPUBLICANS RUSH TO GREEN LIGHT WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM FOLLOWING THIRD TRUMP ASSASSINATION SCARE
National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) spokesperson Bernadette Breslin slammed Democratic candidates running for the Senate for not lowering the temperature, as they once called for, and for not condemning the shooting over the weekend.
“Today’s Democrats are beholden to a Trump-hating base that is dragging their party down a dangerous path,” Breslin told Fox News Digital. “Republicans have consistently made clear that political violence has no place in America, while Democrats’ silence is deafening.”
Calls to tone down the rhetoric reached a zenith after the assassination of political activist Charlie Kirk last year. But that moment has done little to quiet the back-and-forth, particularly on the campaign trail.
HOUSE GOP PUSHES BACK ON SENATE’S ‘SKINNY’ PLAN TO END RECORD-BREAKING DHS SHUTDOWN
Platner, who is running to unseat Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, in a race that could determine control of the Senate, did little to tone down his speech on the heels of Kirk’s assassination.
“I don’t wanna beat Susan Collins, I want to trounce Susan Collins” Platner said at the time during an interview with Meidas Touch. “I want to give the Republican Party a battering.”
Platner’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on his past rhetoric or on whether he condemned the shooting.
Just a few weeks later, fellow progressive candidate Abdul El-Sayed, who is locked in a contentious three-way Democratic primary vying for outgoing Sen. Gary Peters’, D-Mich., seat, went after Republicans with heated rhetoric.
EXPERT WARNS DEMOCRATS RISK BACKLASH OVER FAILURE TO CONDEMN VIOLENT RHETORIC IN THEIR RANKS
He put a new spin on a phrase coined years ago by former first lady Michelle Obama during a Fight Oligarchy tour stop run by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., in Michigan.
“When they go low, we don’t go high,” El-Sayed said. “We take them to the mud and choke them out.”
El-Sayed did condemn the shooting in Washington, D.C., and said in a post on X that he was “relieved that no members of the administration, media, staff, or bystanders were hurt,” but his campaign did not comment on his past rhetoric against Republicans.
Former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, who is running to flip retiring Sen. Thom Tillis’, R-N.C., seat in the upper chamber, blasted Trump as a “threat to democracy” and argued that “defeating him is imperative” during the 2024 presidential cycle.
A spokesperson for his Senate bid told Fox News Digital that Cooper believed “that political violence of any kind is unacceptable, and he’s grateful to the brave law enforcement members who worked to keep the president and attendees safe on Saturday evening.”
Meanwhile, the White House is pinning the blame for the weekend shooting on Democrats’ far-left base.
“The left wing cult of hatred against the president and all of those who support him and work for him has gotten multiple people hurt and killed, and it almost did so again this weekend,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday.
Dem Senate hopefuls under scrutiny for ‘choke them out’ rhetoric after Trump attack scare 2026 IUSTITIA.BG – Investigations 2009-2025 2026-04-27 20:55:03 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law
