Washington Examiner columnist Guy Benson condemned political violence against President Donald Trump and said that it “should be intolerable for every single American.”
“A lot of rhetoric is flying in all directions, yes, including from the president. The bullets seem to be flying in one direction toward the president, and that should be intolerable for every single American,” Benson said on Fox News’s Special Report with Bret Baier.
The White House Correspondents’ Association dinner took a turn Saturday when a gunman identified as Cole Allen, 31, stormed past security and fired gunshots during the dinner.
Allen was formally charged on Monday with attempting to assassinate the president. While no serious injuries were reported, one agent’s vest was hit by gunfire, and he is currently recovering.
The shooting led to a unified message between Democrats and Republicans, as both sides of the aisle called for an end to political violence.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said dangerous rhetoric is leading to these kinds of actions.
“This hateful and constant and violent rhetoric directed at President Trump day after day after day for 11 years has helped to legitimize this violence,” Leavitt said Monday.
Leavitt called out late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel’s comedy skit last week, when he said first lady Melania Trump looked like an “expectant widow.”
“This kind of rhetoric about the president, the first lady, and his supporters is completely deranged, and it’s unbelievable that the American people are consuming it night after night after night,” Leavitt said.
Benson argued that trying to dampen ongoing political rhetoric is not enough.
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“We have these brief moments where we say ‘let’s bring down the temperature,’ and then it’s off to business as usual, and we sort of glide past these assassination plots and attempts with regularity,” Benson said.
“I don’t know how you combat that as a society,” he added. “We cannot normalize this kind of thing.”