Speaker Mike Johnson on Sunday issued an urgent plea to fellow political leaders to bring down the national temperature after the failed assassination attempt on Donald Trump, citing President Joe Biden’s comment that Democrats needed to put a “bullseye” on the former president as an example of the reckless rhetoric that needs to stop.
“We’ve got to turn the rhetoric down, we’ve got to turn the temperature down on this country. We need leaders of all parties, on both sides, to call that out and make sure that happens so we can go forward and maintain our free society,” Johnson said during an appearance on NBC’s TODAY.
“There’s no figure in American history, at least in the modern era, maybe since Lincoln, who has been so vilified and really persecuted by media, Hollywood elites, political figures, even the legal system. When the message goes out constantly that the election of Donald Trump would be a threat to democracy and the republic would end, it heats up the environment. We cannot do that. It is simply not true. Everyone needs to turn the rhetoric down,” Johnson added.
Johnson pointed to Biden’s suggestion a recent fundraiser that Trump needed to be put “in the bulleye” as the kind of intense rhetoric directed at Trump for the better part of a decade.
“President Biden himself said in recent days ‘it’s time to put a bullseye on Trump.’ I know he didn’t mean what is being implied there, but that kind of language on either side should be called out,” Johnson stated.
Biden was one of many political leaders who quickly condemned the assassination attempt against Trump and all forms of political violence. The president and his 2024 rival had a quick, respectful phone call hours after the incident took place. Trump’s campaign shared a video of him exiting his private jet and walking down a flight of stairs without issue. This morning, Trump issued another statement mourning the victims and asking the nation to come together.
“We pray for the recovery of those who were wounded, and hold in our hearts the memory of the citizen who was so horribly killed. In this moment, it is more important than ever that we stand United, and show our True Character as Americans, remaining Strong and Determined, and not allowing Evil to Win,” Trump said on Truth Social.
Last night, Johnson promised a full congressional investigation into the failed assassination attempt against Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, an incident already considered a major intelligence and law enforcement failure. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R., Ky.) is seeking testimony from Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle in the coming weeks.