The White House dismissed claims President Joe Biden , Vice President Kamala Harris , and other Democrats were stoking political violence by describing former President Donald Trump as a "threat to democracy" and "dangerous."
"The question that you're asking is also incredibly dangerous in the way that you're asking it," press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told Fox News reporter Peter Doocy on Monday.
Jean-Pierre pointed to Biden, for example, calling Trump on the phone this week after last weekend's assassination attempt on Trump's life at the Trump International Golf Club West Palm Beach near the former president's private resort, Mar-a-Lago, to express his relief that he was not hurt in the incident and to discuss the U.S. Secret Service . She also cited the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
Doocy had asked how many more assassination attempts must there be until Biden and Harris opt for different descriptors for Trump.
"Your question involved a comment in the statement," she said. "We can have a disagreement on policies. We can on issues. That is what we should do. It is important to have those disagreements. It is important to have those disagreements on the economy , on healthcare , on foreign policy . But when you start bringing political rhetoric, political rhetoric, that is not OK."
Earlier in Monday's briefing, Jean-Pierre responded to Trump and his vice president nominee, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), blaming Biden and Harris for the assassination attempts. Vance, in particular, underscored how no Trump supporters had made any attempt on the life of Harris, at least according to public information.
"When you are a national leader and you have a community that looks up to your leadership and you have a job where you're supposed to make people's lives better, where you're supposed to do the thing that is right on behalf not just say for the American people but on behalf of this country, people entrusted you to do just that," Jean-Pierre said. "When you have that type of language out there, it's dangerous. It's dangerous because people look up to that particular national leader and they listen to you when you are a national leader, and when you make comments like that, all it does is create or opens an opportunity for people to listen to you and potentially take you very seriously."
Trump has repeatedly attributed the assassination attempts to Democratic rhetoric on social media, in interviews, and in public appearances. After the first attempt on his life in Pennsylvania on July 13, the former president did initially call for unity.
"The Rhetoric, Lies, as exemplified by the false statements made by Comrade Kamala Harris during the rigged and highly partisan ABC Debate, and all of the ridiculous lawsuits specifically designed to inflict damage on Joe’s, then Kamala’s, Political Opponent, ME, has taken politics in our Country to a whole new level of Hatred, Abuse, and Distrust," Trump wrote on Truth Social . "Because of this Communist Left Rhetoric, the bullets are flying, and it will only get worse! Allowing millions of people, from places unknown, to INVADE and take over our Country, is an unpardonable sin."
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Harris has called for “ civil dialogue ” and noted she called Trump after the second attempt on his life to check on him.
"Political violence of any kind is unacceptable, and I strongly condemn it,” Harris said Tuesday on the Chiquibaby radio show. “I’m grateful that he is OK, but we all have to stand up and say enough of this kind of approach. We have to have civil dialogue and discourse. We have to be able to talk through our differences.”
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