Harris denounces ‘heinous’ assassination attempt in first public remarks on Trump shooting

Vice President Kamala Harris condemned Wednesday the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump as “heinous, horrible and cowardly” in her first public remarks on the shooting.

But she raised a key question for the election moving forward: How Biden’s campaign decries violence directed against Trump as it argues why he’s unfit to be president.

“There must be unity around the idea that while our nation’s history has been scarred by political violence, violence is never acceptable. There can be no equivocation about that,” Harris said at a campaign stop in Michigan. “At the same time, the hallmark of American democracy, the hallmark of any democracy, is a strong competition of ideas, policies, and a vision for the future.”

“Just as we must reject political violence, we must also embrace a robust discussion about what is at stake in this election,” she added.

A central point of the Biden-Harris campaign has focused on the idea of Trump posing a threat to democracy, citing his record, criminal indictments and the Supreme Court presidential immunity decision, among other things. Since the shooting at Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania that left one person dead and two others seriously wounded, however, Democrats and Republicans alike have denounced political violence and encouraged all sides to dial back heated rhetoric.

In the immediate aftermath of the assassination attempt, many Democrats expressed sympathy for the former president and remained mute on criticisms of Trump. President Joe Biden pleaded with Americans to cool down the political temperature and called for unity in an address to the nation from the Oval Office Sunday.

Biden told NBC News’ Lester Holt Monday that he regretted urging Democrats to place Trump “in a bullseye” days before the shooting, clarifying he meant it as a call to focus on the former president’s actions. Still, Biden rejected suggestions that his previous comments had promoted violence against Trump, saying he was “not engaged in that rhetoric” unlike Trump.

“Do you just not say anything because it may incite somebody?” Biden said.

Harris on Wednesday appeared to echo the president’s sentiment, emphasizing the delicate balance the campaign will need to strike between denouncing the attack against Trump while still underscoring their beliefs in the potential dangers of a second Trump presidency.

“The surest way to reaffirm the strength of our democracy is by engaging in a vigorous and civil exchange of ideas,” Harris said.

Speaking at his first campaign event in Milwaukee as the Republican vice presidential candidate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance blamed the media for suggesting Trump has engaged in harmful rhetoric and praised the former president’s response after the shooting.

“Was he mad and angry? He called for national unity. He called for calm. He showed leadership,” Vance said. “Donald Trump got shot and he toned down the temperature. That’s what a real leader does.”