After being injured in the ear, Trump has since arrived in Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention, where delegates are expected to officially nominate him for president.
On a virtual press conference Monday, Congressman Marc Molinaro of the 19th District joined other New York Republicans in denouncing the shooting. Molinaro says, in addition to the FBI’s investigation, Congress plans to investigate how the alleged shooter got by the Secret Service in the first place.
“President Trump came within just half an inch, and perhaps only seconds, from assassination," he notes. "And we know without question that there was a colossal failure of security, and a breech of those security protocols.”
One rallygoer was killed in the shooting, and two others were critically injured. The gunman, who was killed by the Secret Service shortly after shots rang out, has been identified by the FBI as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania.
The incident has forced at least a temporary pause in hostilities between President Biden and Trump’s campaigns, in what was already a tumultuous race marked by Trump’s guilty verdict on several criminal charges in New York, and calls from some Democrats for Biden to step aside after his disappointing performance in a recent debate. In a rare televised address Sunday, Biden called for Americans to reject political violence and “cool down” before November.
In New York’s 17th District, Republican Congressman Mike Lawler says he and Democratic Congressman Ritchie Torres are introducing a bipartisan measure to boost Secret Service security for Biden, Trump, and independent Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
“One of the main takeaways that I think we all need to have as Americans is that our elections are determined by votes at a ballot box, not by violence at a rally," Lawler told NPR on Sunday. "It is a sad day in America when it has come to this, that someone would try to take action into their own hands and upend our nation.”
Elsewhere in the Hudson Valley, Democratic Congressman Pat Ryan of the 18th District thanked the Secret Service in the aftermath of the attack, adding quote: “Let me be clear and unequivocal as possible: There is no excuse whatsoever for political violence.” Westchester County Executive George Latimer, a Democrat who is running for the 16th Congressional District, described the incident as “simply awful,” adding in part: “We will learn more about a 20-year-old boy who hasn’t yet voted for a president, [but] felt it proper to try to kill one.”
Others denouncing the violence include New York Governor Kathy Hochul, state lawmakers like State Senator Rob Rolison and State Senator James Skoufis, and local officials like Rockland County Executive Ed Day and Ulster County Executive Jen Metzger. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office urged residents to “remain vigilant” and report any suspicious events to law enforcement.
Some New York lawmakers, however, blamed the Biden campaign in the immediate aftermath of the shooting. Congressman Nick LaLota of the 1st District on Long Island accused Biden of telling supporters to “put Trump in a bullseye” in the days before the attack, while Congresswoman Claudia Tenney of 24th District referred to Biden as the “same evil guy threatening President Trump and also denying secret service to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.”
Asked if he feels Trump has contributed to the vitriol with his own rhetoric over the years — the former president, after all, was impeached for his role in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 — Molinaro says no one’s hands are clean.
“Everyone has a role to play in dialing it down. Everyone has played a role, at times, in accelerating some of the rhetoric," he adds. "It’s like most things: I don’t know where the line is en masse, but I know where it is for me. And I’m hopeful that my colleagues in elected office, candidates for office, and others know that there is a line, and try to stay on the right side of it.”
Trump has reportedly changed his convention speech for Thursday night to include more messages of unity.
In other election news Monday, a federal judge in Florida dismissed a case against Trump regarding his mishandling of classified documents, saying special counsel Jack Smith was illegally appointed. On his social media site, Trump quickly posted a statement blasting Biden, the justice system, and others.
