COBB COUNTY, Ga. — Speaking publicly for the first time following an apparent assassination attempt against former president Donald Trump, GOP vice presidential nominee JD Vance called on Democrats to "tone down the rhetoric."
While law enforcement officials have not yet released a suspected motive for the plot that authorities foiled in Florida Sunday, the Ohio senator suggested to a crowd of Georgia Republicans that Democrats bore some responsibility.
"I'm not going to say that conservatives always get things exactly right," Vance said at his metro Atlanta rally. "But you know the big difference between conservatives and liberals is that no one has tried to kill Kamala Harris in the last couple of months, and two people now have tried to kill Donald Trump in the last couple of months. I'd say that's pretty strong evidence that the left needs to tone down the rhetoric. It needs to cut this crap out. Somebody's going to get hurt by it."
In a statement posted to X on Sunday, Vice President Harris wrote that she was "deeply disturbed by the possible assassination attempt of former President Trump."
"I condemn political violence," she continued. "We all must do our part to ensure that this incident does not lead to more to (sic) violence."
Vance's comments came during a speech at an event organized by the Georgia Faith and Freedom Coalition, an influence group that promotes conservative Christian policies.
"Today we all say together, unafraid, we are proud to be the pro-life party in the United States of America," said Vance during his remarks.
Conservative Christians are a key voter group for Republicans in the November election. Speakers at the event like Georgia Republican Governor Brian Kemp stressed the importance of voter engagement and turnout.
"We have to expand our majority in Congress, take back control of the U.S. Senate, and send Donald Trump back to the white house," said Kemp.
The emphasis on turnout underscored the important role Georgia could play in the election. As one of just a handful of battleground states, the decision Georgia voters make could be decisive to the outcome of the race.