“It is incredible that such an act can take place in our country.” — Donald Trump, writing on Truth Social after an attempt on his life, 7/13/24
It is a sad time in American history, folks. A crazed gunman attempted to assassinate me, Donald Trump, in an act of hatred and violence that sits in stark contrast with the political era of hatred and violence I have single-handedly created.
As a politician who’s built his entire appeal around saying deeply hateful things about anyone who opposes me, the deep-seated hatred we saw on display last Saturday evening is truly unimaginable. As a person who’s wished abhorrent violence upon reporters, protesters, political adversaries, shoplifters, and people who I just don’t like, the abhorrent violence of this weekend’s rally is difficult to comprehend.
At my public rallies, I’ve always done my best to rile up disaffected voters with needlessly violent rhetoric. So, imagine my shock when a disaffected voter showed up at one of my public rallies and committed a needless act of violence. Clearly, the temperature in this country has gotten way too high, which comes as a complete surprise to me, someone who has deliberately turned up the temperature for easy media coverage, meager political gains, and often just for fun.
Make no mistake, America, I do not want to live in a country where leaders regularly face death threats. That’s why I’ve spent nearly ten years helping to create a world where my supporters regularly send death threats to any Republican who criticizes me, call for my former running mate to be lynched, and storm the Capitol with the intention of kidnapping senators.
It’s just so sad to see violent political plots become downplayed and even legitimized, especially after I downplayed and legitimized the violent political plot to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. It’s simply heartbreaking to see that all the time and energy you’ve put into refusing to denounce hate groups who engage in voter intimidation and violence on your behalf has resulted in more widespread voter intimidation and violence.
Assassination attempts like the one that happened to me need to be firmly condemned and treated with complete seriousness by both sides of the political aisle. Just like when I half-heartedly condemned with complete unseriousness the assassination attempt on Nancy Pelosi after publicly mocking her about it in the middle of a rant about Democrats turning our cities into war-torn hellholes.
At this critical moment, my fellow Americans, we must come together and trust in our democracy—the same democracy I’ve repeatedly claimed is an illegitimate sham you shouldn’t trust and very recently tried to violently overthrow. We must stand united with the same Democrats I’ve tirelessly portrayed as corrupt, subhuman boogeymen actively trying to turn our country into a crime-ridden dystopia. And we must never tolerate the kinds of violence that I openly glorify on social media and have credibly been the direct cause of at least fifty-four times.
Because, at the end of the day, America is not about shooting at a presidential candidate. America is about being a presidential candidate and saying you could probably shoot people with absolutely zero consequences.