Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - In the hours since the attempted assassination of former U.S. President Donald Trump at a rally in Butler, Pa. on Saturday, Congressman Nick Langworthy (R, NY-23) is calling for the country to unite, while also tempering the highly-charged political atmosphere.
"We have to turn down the temperature, and we have to stop vilifying people, because it's led to political violence," said Langworthy on Monday in an appearance on WBEN. "We have had the first assassination attempt on a former President, Presidential candidate in decades. This is a very dark moment for our country, and it's not unpredictable, sadly. When you say someone's a threat to democracy, when you say he's going to be a dictator, he's going to steal everyone's rights, this is what leads to this moment."
As a member of the House Oversight Committee, Langworthy says it will get to work immediately to not figure out what led to this assassination attempt, especially with several people jumping to conclusions on social media.
"Anytime there is something of this magnitude, there's going to be people that make conclusions. But I'm deeply troubled by the breakdown here," Langworthy said with Susan Rose. "The Secret Service, local law enforcement, there are certainly acts of heroism that you saw, but there's a huge breakdown at the top here. How a roof with a clear sightline to the former President of the United States, and the leading candidate to be the next President of the United States, a clear sightline to have a shot at the stage. The fact it was unguarded, that someone was able to shimmy up on that roof and take that shot, it is completely unacceptable and a breakdown of the mission of the U.S. Secret Service. We have to get to the bottom as to how this happened."
Langworthy says they dig deep to try and answer a number of questions surrounding the incident, and the breakdown of how this came to be.
"Is it a matter of resources? Is it a matter of a botched jurisdiction, whether it was local law enforcement? Perhaps we're leading far too hard on local law enforcement in these these circumstances? We've called an emergency hearing of the Oversight Committee for when the Congress returns to Washington next week, and we have asked the head of the Secret Service to be there on the 22nd," Langworthy noted.
With the Secret Service serving as the protective detail of the President of the United States, as well as the Republican Presidential candidate, Langworthy feels this mission is far too critical.
"The life of the leader of the free world hangs in the hands of this agency. It needs to be perfect, and there's no do overs," he said. "By God's grace, President Trump is still with us. One turn of the head, and we're in a deep period of mourning.
"I'd be remiss if I didn't say, our prayers go out to the victim and those that are suffering in the hospital right now from this killer and what he did in Pennsylvania. We have to get to the bottom of this. We have to find out where the breakdown is, obviously the internet is providing more-and-more footage, and the media's getting a hold of cell phone footage for people that are in the crowd. There's some really, really troubling episodes that I've seen in the last 24 hours."
While Langworthy acknowledges the sitting President is going to get the absolute highest level of protection from the Secret Service, he feels the opposing nominee in an upcoming Presidential election needs to have that same level, especially for an event like a rally that took place in Pennsylvania.
"I think you're going to see a ramp up like crazy here in the wake of this. There can be no errors going forward. There can be no mistakes," Langworthy stated. "Robert F. Kennedy should have been given Secret Service protection right away. That was a very petty move by the administration to not allow Robert F. Kennedy, who had credible threats to his life and, obviously, lost his father in the last tragic Presidential campaign assassination that we've seen in this country."
Meanwhile, with the Republican National Convention taking place this week in Milwaukee, Wis., Langworthy feels Republicans will come out of this event united and stronger than ever behind former President Trump.
"We were united and strong yesterday, we've been united and strong for months now. He obviously performed incredibly well during the primaries and got 80% of the vote almost everywhere he went. Now, it's different. This is President Trump's party," Langworthy said. "We have a platform that, I think, appeals to all Americans that believe in common sense and, in our values, are going to get this country back on track so we have a brighter future for our kids and our grandkids.
"President Trump now, that iconic moment when after someone shot him, he was nearly killed, and he stood up and pumped his fist, and told the American people to keep fighting. I think that resolve that President Trump showed in that moment, that toughness, he's willing to pay any price to change the trajectory of this country, and get us back on an optimistic path forward. It shows what he's willing to sacrifice for this country."
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