Local congressman Jason Smith shares how the Trump rally shooting will impact RNC

MILWAUKEE, Wis. — On Saturday, June 13, former President Donald Trump was hurried off stage after he was injured in a shooting at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania that left one attendee dead and two others seriously injured.

Nexstar’s Hannah Brandt spoke with Jason Smith, the U.S. Congressman from Missouri’s 8th Congressional District, at the Republican National Convention (RNC) about how the GOP is reacting to the assassination attempt ahead of the convention.

Trump is expected to speak at the Republican National Convention this week, where he will officially become the 2024 presidential nominee for the GOP.

Smith expects an energetic convention this week with the Republican Party fully behind Donald Trump.

“I think you’re gonna see a convention full of positive energy that Republicans are united and we are ready to elect Donald Trump president of the United States, the 47th president of the United States,” said Smith. “Tonight, when President Trump walks into this arena, I think the roof is gonna be blown off the top and we’re gonna welcome him exactly what he deserves.”

Smith noted how tumultuous the last 48 hours have been in America.

“The last 48 hours has been tough for America. We saw before our own eyes on live TV an attempted assassination of a former president and a future president. He survived, he jumped up, he was brave, he put his fist up in the air, and he reassured Americans that he was alive, he was strong and he was gonna continue that fight. That’s what Americans want; they want someone that they know is gonna bring strength and continue to lead.”

Smith says he has questions about how this attempted assassination was able to occur in the first place.

“In regards to the assassination attempt, we need answers. What happened should never happen again,” said Smith. “It’s been 40 years since an assassination attempt since Ronald Reagan has came this close. A fact that a 20-year-old was able to get on top of a roof 160 yards away and shoot at the former president is absolutely unacceptable and it shows that there was clearly a breach in the secret service. We need to figure out why was there a breach and make sure that never happens again.”

Smith believes that the assassination attempt will have a significant impact on the upcoming election, especially when it comes to each party’s rhetoric.

“Whenever an election’s moving, everything is so fluid, backward and forwards, but I think the biggest change is that maybe the rhetoric will die down,” Smith said. “Whenever the comments, for example, the Democrats and Joe Biden was saying, that Donald Trump was a threat to democracy. I’m sure that whenever the end of the day, we’ll see that this kid was moved by those kind of comments, which is unacceptable. And so, I think that you won’t see that kind of rhetoric anymore from either side, both sides have been bad. I think you’re gonna see more of a unified country message, you’ve seen that with Joe Biden and Donald Trump in the last 24 hours.”

Smith says he’s excited to be at the RNC and show that the GOP and the country are united.

“[I’m] just excited to be here and happy about a convention that’s gonna make sure that not just the Republicans are unified, but the country is unified.”

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOLR - OzarksFirst.com.