White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt criticized Democrats and media figures for inspiring political violence following a third assassination attempt against President Donald J. Trump, and demanded Congress fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
| PULSE POINTS |
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt addressed the Saturday assassination attempt against President Donald J. Trump at a Monday press conference, calling out the “hateful and constant and violent rhetoric directed at President Trump day after day after day for 11 years [that] has helped to legitimize this violence and bring us to this dark moment.” 📰 DETAIL: Leavitt stressed, “This political violence stems from a systemic demonization of [Trump] and his supporters by commentators [and] yes, by elected members of the Democrat Party, and even some in the media.” The White House Press Secretary, who was present during the assassination attempt during the White House Correspondents’ Assocation (WHCA) dinner at the Washington Hilton hotel, singled out Late Night host Jimmy Kimmel for particular criticism, citing recent remarks he made describing First Lady Melania Trump as “glowing” as an “expectant widow.” She also pushed congressional Democrats to stop blocking funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which includes the Secret Service. “Make no mistake, this defunding of DHS should be a national scandal. If Republicans defunded DHS and we saw another attempted assassination on a Democrat president, I would hope that the media coverage would be relentless and unforgiving,” she said, adding: “There should be no further debate about this; Democrats need to do what President Trump has been calling on them to do for 73 days in a row and fund the Department of Homeland Security, period. This is a national emergency, and every member of Congress needs to put their country over party and get the Department of Homeland Security funded.” 💬 KEY QUOTE: “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, and it almost did so again this weekend.” – Karoline Leavitt 🎯 IMPACT: The record third assassination attempt against President Trump has also seen the Department of Justice (DOJ) redouble its efforts to dismiss a lawsuit against a planned White House ballroom championed by Trump, which it argues will provide a more secure venue for major events such as the WHCA dinner. |
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