White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt launched an angry attack on Democrats on Monday, blaming them for the attempted assassination at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday.
She made her remarks just moments after saying the nation should come together after the shooting incident and tone down the polarizing rhetoric.
“This political violence stems from a systemic demonization of him and his supporters by commentators, yes, by elected members of the Democrat [sic] Party, and even some in the media,” Leavitt said of criticism of the president.
“The left-wing cult of hatred against the president and all of those who support him and work for him has gotten multiple people hurt and killed,” she added.
Leavitt not only blamed anyone who has ever accused Trump of being a fascist for the attack but came to the podium armed with a list of quotes from notable Democrats whom she called out by name.
“The entire Democrat Party has made their pitch to voters across the country that Donald Trump poses an existential threat to Democracy, that he is a fascist, and that they compare him to Hitler,” Leavitt said. “These are despicable statements that the American people have been consuming for years, and so many mentally perturbed individuals are led to believe these words are truth, and then are inspired to act on it.”
Among those she called out by name were House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who she quoted saying, “We are in an era of maximum warfare everywhere, all the time.”
Jeffries used those words last week when talking about Democrats fighting back over Trump’s push to further gerrymander red states. After the shooting at the dinner on Saturday, Jeffries thanked law enforcement for their quick actions and wrote, “The violence and chaos in America must end.”
She also name-dropped Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro for saying earlier this year, “heads need to roll” within the administration.
Shapiro, who himself was the target of an arson at the governor’s mansion last year, had been talking about holding officials accountable after the violence by ICE agents in Minnesota and across the country. In response to Saturday’s attack, Shapiro posted, “political violence is never okay—and it has no place in this country.”
Leavitt went on to blast multiple Democratic senators, House members, and other Democratic Party leaders by name for calling Trump a dictator, supporting mass protests, and saying “we are at war.”
She also called out Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Adam Schiff, and Ed Markey, as well as Gov. JB Pritzker, and Reps. Ayanna Pressley, Monica MacGyver, all by name for their rhetoric.
“I could go on and on, but again, when you have people in positions of power that are saying things like this every single day for years, you are inspiring violence by people who are already mentally ill, and that’s what we’ve seen against this president for far too often,” Leavitt declared.
Her rush to blame Democrats for their rhetoric came just moments after she echoed Trump’s words on Saturday, saying “we need to recommit ourselves as a country to toning down the rhetoric and to unifying around what makes our country great.”
On Saturday night, 31-year-old alleged gunman Cole Allen attempted to storm the White House Correspondents’ Dinner but was taken down outside the ballroom at the Washington Hilton, where the president, First Lady Melania, Vice President JD Vance, and numerous top Trump officials were dining with thousands of reporters and other guests.
According to the alleged manifesto by the suspect, Cole Thomas Allen was targeting administration officials. Allen was charged on Monday with attempting to assassinate the president, along with two firearms charges.
It comes as political violence has been dramatically on the rise in recent years, with members of both political parties being targeted.
Trump survived an assassination attempt at his campaign rally in Butler, PA, in July 2024. Just months later, another would-be assassin was arrested outside his private golf club in Florida with a rifle. The gunman was sentenced to life in prison in February.
But the increase in political violence has also been felt by Democrats. Apart from Shapiro being the target of an arson last year, two Democratic Minnesota state lawmakers were killed last June in another politically motivated attack.
Just before putting members of the Democratic Party on blast from the podium on Monday for the attempted attack on Saturday, Leavitt argued that the country should be able to have disagreements, but they should remain peaceful.
“Debating, peaceful protesting, and voting are how we need to settle disagreements, not bullets,” she said, before pointing fingers at Democrats and the media.
Jeffries shot back on Monday afternoon that he stands by using the phrase “maximum warfare” when discussing the redistricting fight and pointed out that the phrase came from the Trump White House last year when they launched the gerrymandering scramble.
The House minority leader called Leavitt a “disgrace” and a “stone cold liar” and slammed her having the nerve to read off statements that he said were taken out of context while not having a word to say about “anything that MAGA extremists have said or done including providing aid an comfort to violent insurrectionists here at this capitol on January 6.”
“Get lost, clean up your own house before you have anything to say to us about the language that we use,” he angrily said.
