Trump suggests ‘threat to democracy’ calls led to attempted assassination

Former President Donald Trump suggested Wednesday that Democrats calling him a “threat to democracy” could have led a 20-year-old gunman to try to assassinate him, though the FBI has not unveiled a motive behind the July 13 shooting.

“Such a distressed sick world but you know what could be caused when they call you a threat to democracy,” Trump told a crowd of supporters in North Carolina. “You never know what causes it. I'm a threat to them. They're a threat to democracy. They're a threat. They're a threat to our country period.”

The calls to label Trump a “threat to democracy” began after rioters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, but especially ramped up when President Joe Biden decided to run for reelection last year and made it a key talking point while on the campaign trail.

Ever since Biden stepped aside from the 2024 race, Republicans, particularly vice presidential nominee JD Vance , have used the term against Democrats, asserting that the party is a threat to democracy because Democrats pressured Biden to withdraw.

At a Trump rally on July 13, Thomas Matthew Crooks climbed the roof of a building and fired a semi-automatic rifle at Trump about 400 feet away, grazing the former president’s ear. Crooks killed a rallygoer and injured two other attendees. The exact motive remains unclear, but it is known that Crooks was a registered Republican and that he acted alone, according to the FBI.