WaPo Columnist Blames Trump, GOP For ‘Political Violence’ Following Assassination Attempt

Trump Releases Statement After Assassination Attempt In Butler, Pennsylvania

Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin blamed “political violence” on former President Donald Trump and the Republican Party Tuesday.

Trump was slightly wounded Saturday during the attempted assassination at a Butler County, Pennsylvania, rally, which left former volunteer fire chief Corey Comperatore dead and two other attendees wounded. In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Rubin claimed “one party” deserved blame for the violence rocking America.

“One party and one party alone is responsible for rise in political violence: The horrific nature of the shooting should not stand in the way of the media’s examination of Trump’s role in the degeneration of our political discourse,” Rubin posted Tuesday, linking to her Washington Post op-ed.

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Rubin, who was labeled by Politico as the “Biden administration’s favorite columnist,” called for the media to focus renewed attention on “Trump’s role in the degeneration of our political discourse” in the op-ed published Tuesday.

“The shooting at the Trump rally in Butler, Pa., should prompt the media to raise the level of discourse and reembrace the mission of journalism: to inform the citizenry about critical issues,” Rubin wrote. “Grading Trump’s speeches on style points and admiring his technique in playing to the crowd, as opposed to highlighting his efforts to subvert democratic norms, does not help create an informed electorate; rather, it conceals the essential case, based on the record and the GOP’s avowed policy aspirations, that the campaign poses a danger to our constitutional system.”

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President Joe Biden became defensive when questioned Monday over his use of the term “bullseye” with regards to Trump in a call to donors. Former White House communications director Kate Bedingfield corrected herself and apologized Monday after using the phrase “turn their fire on Donald Trump” when discussing the campaign.

Trump survived an assassination attempt during his successful 2016 campaign for President when a 20-year-old man tried to take a police officer’s gun to shoot the then-presumptive GOP nominee during a June 2016 campaign event in Las Vegas.

Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.