Durbin, Budzinski echo Biden’s call for calm, cooling of political climate following Trump assassination attempt

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) – Two of Illinois’ members of Congress are echoing President Biden’s message for calm and cooling of the political climate after the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump at his Pennsylvania rally Saturday.

“It is a miracle that Donald Trump is alive today,” Sen. Dick Durbin said at a press conference Monday.

Secret service members rushed him off the stage from the rally after shots were fired. A bullet pierced Trump’s ear covering his face in blood.

“If that bullet would have been one inch in the other direction, I’m afraid he would have given his life to this assassination attempt,” Durbin said.

Officials say the shooter was 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania.

“It is remarkable how unremarkable the shooter is,” Durbin said, referring to the shooter’s background, suggesting nothing in Crooks’ past indicated he would go on to commit an act of political violence.

Durbin said the FBI briefed him Monday morning on the status of the investigation. It’s still unclear what Crooks’ motives were and his political affiliations.

“You put all those things on a chart and they just don’t link up with some of the radicalism that you expect from someone who would try to do something so horrible as to shoot a former president of the United States,” Durbin said.

Both the shooter and a person who attended the rally are dead.

“People should be able to go to the rally and support the candidate of their choosing and leave peacefully and safely,” Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski (IL-13) said at that same press conference.

Budzinski and Durbin echoed remarks President Biden delivered Sunday night telling Americans to resolve their differences not with bullets, but at the ballot box.

“I think his message last night from the Oval Office was really important for all Americans to hear that we need to, again, lower the political temperature, come together, we can agree to disagree, and we can do that peacefully,” Budzinski said.

The attack on Trump happened just two days before the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Milwaukee, raising concerns about safety and security ahead of the event and for political candidates on the campaign trail. And next month, thousands will flock to Chicago for the Democratic National Convention (DNC).

“The Republican Convention is probably the most secure place in America this week,” Durbin said. “People are sensitized because of what happened in Butler, Pennsylvania, to keep it a safe environment. I think the same will be true for the Democratic Convention.”

Before the RNC and the assassination attempt of Trump, President Biden faced calls from members of his own party to step aside from the presidential race. Both Budzinski and Durbin say they support Biden as the nominee.

“I’m supporting Joe Biden,” Durbin said. “I believe he has an excellent record. And I’m saying that on the positive side. President Trump offers an alternative. In this circumstance, the attempted assassination, and now his convention may change public sentiment one way or the other. We won’t know for a while.”

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