Ohio senator regrets call for ‘civil war’

(The Center Square) – A Republican Ohio state senator said he regrets his remarks at a rally in Middletown for GOP vice-presidential candidate J.D. Vance.

Sen. George Lang, R-West Chester, told the crowd before Vance spoke at his first rally without former President Donald Trump that if Republicans lose the 2024 election, it would take “a civil war to save the country.”

“I’m afraid if we lose this one it’s going to take a civil war to save the country, and it will be saved,” Lang told the crowd. “It’s the greatest experiment in the history of mankind, and if we come down to a civil war, I’m glad we got people like Bikers for Trump on our side,” Lang told the crowd.

Lang represents Vance’s hometown of Middletown.

The comments come a little more than a week after an assassination attempt on Trump in Pennsylvania.

Lang’s Democratic colleagues in the Ohio Senate called the comments “disgusting” on social meeting.

“Senator George Lang calling for a civil war is disgusting. Political violence has been condemned by Republicans and Democrats alike. Inciting violence over an election that hasn’t even occurred yet is irresponsible and undemocratic,” Ohio Senate Democrats wrote on X.

Hours after the remarks, Lang also used X to say he regretted the comments.

“Remarks I made earlier today at a rally in Middletown do not accurately reflect my views,” Lang wrote in a tweet. “I regret the divisive remarks I made in the excitement of the moment on stage. Especially in light of the assassination attempt on President Trump last week, we should all be mindful of what is said at political events, myself included.