The Rhetoric, Lies, as exemplified by the false statements made by Comrade Kamala Harris during the rigged and highly partisan ABC Debate, and all of the ridiculous lawsuits specifically designed to inflict damage on Joe’s, then Kamala’s, Political Opponent, ME, has taken…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 16, 2024
JD Vance, the Republican vice-presidential nominee, has called for a de-escalation in political rhetoric following a recent assassination attempt against his running mate, former President Donald Trump. In a public address, Vance highlighted the difference between conservatives and liberals, stating, “the big difference between conservatives and liberals is no one has tried to kill Kamala Harris.”
VP Harris confirms she spoke to former President Trump today "to see if he was OK." She told him there's no place for political violence in this country.
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) September 17, 2024
Vance’s remarks come in the wake of the January 6, 2021 incident, where Vice President Harris came within feet of a pipe bomb outside the Democratic National Committee offices in Washington, D.C. The perpetrator of this incident has not been caught. Speaking for the first time since the foiled assassination attempt on Sunday, Vance urged Democrats to “cut this c–p out” and “tone down the rhetoric.” He denied any responsibility for the numerous bomb threats made in Springfield, Ohio, which followed his and Trump’s false claims about Haitian migrants eating people’s pets.
Authorities arrested Ryan Routh, a suspected would-be assassin who fled Trump International Golf Course in Florida on Sunday.
Back in 2012, JD Vance wrote a scathing rebuke of the Republican Party's stance on migrants and minorities, criticizing it for being 'openly hostile to non-whites' and for alienating 'Blacks, Latinos, [and] the youth.'
Four years later, as Vance considered a career in GOP…
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) September 18, 2024
The FBI stated that a Secret Service agent spotted a rifle barrel sticking out of a chain link fence near Trump. Routh was found with an AK-47, two backpacks, and a GoPro camera.
Vance urges political rhetoric reduction
Although not registered with any political party, Routh had previously made small donations to Democrats and claimed to have voted for Trump in 2016. Earlier this summer, Thomas Crooks, a registered Republican, wounded Trump at a Pennsylvania rally.
FBI officials suggested that Crooks may have targeted the former president. In his address to the Faith and Freedom Coalition in Atlanta, Vance pledged to “do my part to tone down the rhetoric,” adding, “to the people telling you Donald Trump needs to be ‘eliminated,’ you guys need to cut it out or you’re going to get somebody hurt.”
Vance emphasized the importance of respectful disagreement and debate, stating, “We can disagree with one another, we can debate one another. But we cannot tell the American people that one candidate is a fascist and if he’s elected it’s going to be the end of American democracy.”
Meanwhile, Trump criticized the state of America under Biden’s leadership.
Shortly after his address, Vance tweeted a message to supporters calling for a reduction in inflammatory rhetoric, while also urging them to “reject censorship.” He criticized media organizations for reporting bomb threats following his false claims about Haitian migrants in Ohio.
