North Shore Louisiana News

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) addressed the recent assassination attempt on President Trump during interviews with Fox News' "Fox and Friends" and CBS News. The incident occurred at a rally in Pennsylvania.

In his appearance on Fox News, Scalise emphasized the need to scrutinize political rhetoric, particularly from those targeting Trump personally. He stated, "It's one side that is going after Donald Trump in a way to demonize him personally... They don't talk about how they don't like his pet tax and border policies. They just go after him personally, they demonize him."

Scalise also drew parallels between this event and the 2017 shooting at a congressional baseball practice where he was injured. He attributed both incidents to violent rhetoric from political opponents: "The rhetoric from the left was what charged [Leader Scalise’s 2017 baseball] shooter and it was very violent rhetoric... It's got to stop."

He further commented on public reactions to the attack, noting that even those who do not support Trump found the assassination attempt abhorrent. "People that will tell you today they won't even vote for Donald Trump thought yesterday was a disgusting day," he said.

Scalise expressed gratitude for what he described as divine intervention during both incidents: "If it were not for the hand of God... that's the only reason me and a dozen other members of Congress weren't taken out that day."

Addressing legislative actions against Trump's security measures, Scalise criticized attempts by some Democrats to remove Secret Service protection from Trump: "That's a very specific targeted action because they don't like the person."

During his CBS News interview, Scalise reflected on witnessing similar violence in 2017. He praised law enforcement's quick response during both events: "You saw the heroes yesterday... It just shows you the bravery and heroism of those men and women who put their lives on the line."

Scalise called for an end to personal attacks in political discourse: "This hypercharged rhetoric just needs to be dialed down... Let's talk about our differences." He urged focusing on policy issues rather than personal attacks.

Reflecting on past events, Scalise hoped for a reduction in hostile rhetoric following this latest incident: “In the shooting in 2017 for a long period of time, there did seem to be a dialing down and hopefully, with yesterday, we see a dialing down again.”