On Tuesday’s broadcast of CNN’s “Situation Room,” Harris-Walz Campaign Co-Chair Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) responded to charges that Democratic rhetoric is responsible for the most recent assassination attempt against 2024 Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump by stating that “Democratic rhetoric has not escalated in any way in recent months,” and “He has always been a threat to democracy, we’ve always said that.”
Host Wolf Blitzer asked, “Trump is blaming the latest assassination attempt against him on Democratic rhetoric that he says is a threat to democracy in our country. How do you respond to him on that?”
Duckworth answered, “Well, I think that he has been the most inflammatory person, and, in fact, Democratic rhetoric has not escalated in any way in recent months, hasn’t escalated in any way. He has always been a threat to democracy, we’ve always said that. After all, this is the man who incited the riots on January 6, who continued to cozy up to white supremacists and other racists and hate groups, he is being very hypocritical, and he’s trying to really turn the page away from his terrible performance at the debate and all of the things that are coming out now with his failures on IVF, his failures when it comes to coming up with any type of a plan for the economy. And he’s just doing everything he can to try to switch the dialogue, the discussions that [are] happening from what’s truly at hand, which is the voters have a real choice come November, and it’s not going to be Donald Trump.”
Blitzer followed up, “So, you don’t think Senator, that it’s dangerous to call him a threat to democracy?”
Duckworth responded, “I think he truly is a threat to democracy. I think what is dangerous is what Donald Trump did on January 6, which was to incite violence and then sit by for hours while this building that I’m in, among other buildings here on Capitol Hill, came under attack.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
