RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said linking Republican rhetoric to political violence is unfair amid questions over the motive behind Friday’s attack on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) husband, The Hill reports.
Said McDaniel: “Well, I think that’s unfair. I think this is a deranged individual. You can’t say people saying, ‘let’s fire Pelosi’ or ‘let’s take back the House’ is saying ‘go do violence.’ It’s just unfair.”
She added: “And I think we all need to recognize violence is up across the board.”
Washington Post: Republicans blame ‘both sides’ for political violence after Paul Pelosi attack.
The Economist: “Although the attempt to assassinate Mrs Pelosi may have been amateurish, it would be a mistake to dismiss it as an outlier incident committed by a deranged man. As American politics have grown more feverish, the number of near-misses has been rising at a disturbing pace.”
