In the aftermath of the shooting that injured President Donald J. Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday, several Republican lawmakers and conservative media personalities jumped to blame Joe Biden for the assassination attempt against his rival for the White House.
Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) wrote on X, minutes after the shooting:
Joe Biden sent the orders.
Joe Biden sent the orders. https://t.co/pOc0XLxCwg
— Mike Collins (@MikeCollinsGA) July 13, 2024
Collins pointed to a recent statement made by Biden during a Monday call with top Liberal donors.
Biden said:
I have one job, and that’s to beat Donald Trump. I’m absolutely certain I’m the best person to be able to do that. So, we’re done talking about the debate, it’s time to put Trump in a bullseye.
Further:
We can’t go another day, another day, without explaining what he’s doing, and we have to go after him.
The details surrounding the shooter and the motives are still being pulled together.
According to the Associated Press:
[T]he incident is being investigated as an attempted assassination. Despite the lack of information, Collins and other Republican figures have seized on the portion of Biden’s statement referencing a “bullseye” as proof that the president ordered or tacitly endorsed an attempt on Trump’s life.
The X account of the Republican-controlled House Judiciary Committee was able to connect the same statement to the shooting:
Joe Biden: ‘It’s time to put Trump in a bullseye.’
That just happened.
Joe Biden: “It’s time to put Trump in a bullseye.”
That just happened.
— House Judiciary GOP 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@JudiciaryGOP) July 13, 2024
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) wrote “shame on him” in reference to the same quote.
“It’s time to put Trump in a bullseye.”
– Joe BidenShame on him.
— Rep. Lauren Boebert (@RepBoebert) July 13, 2024
Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), who is seen as a top contender for Trump’s vice presidential spot, similarly blamed Biden for the shooting—though he cited Biden’s criticisms of Trump’s authoritarian leanings.
Vance posted on X:
Today is not just some isolated incident. The central premise of the Biden campaign is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs. That rhetoric led directly to President Trump’s attempted assassination.
Right-wing media figures even further,
claiming that Team Biden may have been involved
in a covert assassination plot against Trump.
Sean Davis, founder of the Conservative publication The Federalist, suggested:
[T]he Biden regime knew about this and either allowed it to happen… or made it happen.
Davis added:
They did it to Kennedy, and his brother, and they just tried to do it to Trump.
Biden, Harris, and every single deranged Democrat who spent years whipping their nutjob followers into a frenzy so they would try to kill Trump needs to resign and beg for forgiveness.
And then the investigations can begin to see who in the Biden regime knew about this and…
— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) July 13, 2024
Alex Jones claimed the shooting was evidence of “globalists” desire to kill Trump and other prominent conservative allies and supporters.
He wrote on X:
Deep State Will Try To Kill Trump Again!
Biden addressed the shooting in a televised statement on Saturday.
There’s no place for this kind of violence in America. We must unite as one nation to condemn it.
Further, he called the shooting:
Sick.
Joe-Joe said he planned to speak directly with Trump.
Before leaving the podium, Biden was asked if he felt the shooting was an assassination attempt.
He replied:
I do not know enough. I have an opinion, but I do not have any facts. I want to make sure of all of the facts before I make a comment.