The attempted assassination of Donald Trump on Saturday has given Republicans an opportunity to pin the blame on Democrats, who have long campaigned on the warning that the former president is a threat to democracy. Although the shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was a registered Republican and "definitely conservative," in the words of one former classmate, GOP officials rushed to blame President Joe Biden and the Democrats for a creating political environment that encourages violence.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., was quick to the point on Sunday, arguing that “when the message goes out constantly that the election of Donald Trump would be a threat to democracy and that the republic would end, it heats up the environment.”
