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JD Vance blames Biden campaign rhetoric
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JD Vance blames Biden campaign rhetoric

Vance says Biden campaign ‘rhetoric’ ‘led directly to attempted assassination of President Trump’

Ohio Sen. JD Vance, a potential Republican vice presidential nominee, was quick to blame President Joe Biden’s campaign following an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump on Saturday at a rally in Pennsylvania.

“Today is not an isolated incident,” Vance posted on X about two hours after the incident. “The central premise of the Biden campaign is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs. That rhetoric directly led to the attempted assassination of President Trump.”

One person was killed and two others were seriously injured after someone fired shots from outside Trump’s rally in Butler, about 40 miles from the Ohio border, according to the Secret Service. The former president raised his fist as agents carried him off the stage; blood was visible on the side of his face.

Trump later said he had been shot. A statement from the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee said the man “is doing well and grateful to law enforcement and emergency services for their quick response.”

The suspected shooter is dead. Authorities are investigating the shooting as an attempted murder, the Associated Press reported.

“There is no place in America for this kind of violence,” Biden said Saturday. “It’s disgusting. It’s one of the reasons we have to bring this country together. We can’t let this happen. We can’t be like this. We can’t tolerate this.”

The shooting came a day before Republicans are set to head to Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention. Vance is a leading candidate to be Trump’s running mate and the former president was expected to announce his choice in the coming days.

More on Vance: Vice presidential candidate JD Vance has multiple ties to Columbus, has called it home

“You’ll make a perfect Trump VP. Shame on you,” former Illinois Congressman Joe Walsh posted on X, calling Vance’s comments “disgusting.”

On NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday morning, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., was asked about Vance’s comments.

“Let’s just be thankful today that our former president, political candidate, survived an assassination attempt,” Graham said. “I don’t want to go down that road now.”

Haley BeMiller is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

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