The conciliatory tone adopted by Donald Trump immediately after Saturday’s incident at the White House Correspondents’ Association reception proved short-lived. The Republican President and the White House quickly resumed strong attacks against their political opponents, accusing them in particular of encouraging “political violence”. Democratic opposition figures responded by urging the administration to “look to its own conduct” before criticising others.
White House accusations
“The cult of hatred coming from the left against the President and everyone who supports and works for him has caused many injuries and deaths,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said yesterday, adding that it “failed to strike again this weekend”.
She noted that this marked the third assassination attempt against Donald Trump in less than two years and condemned what she described as the “systematic demonisation” of the 79-year-old president.
“In recent years, no one has had to face more violence than President Trump,” she said.
“Those who constantly and unfairly label the President a fascist, a threat to democracy, and compare him with Hitler for political purposes fuel this kind of violence,” Leavitt added.
Democratic response
The remarks prompted an angry response from House Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
“Does Ms Leavitt really want to lecture us on civic conduct and political culture?” Jeffries said.
“Sweep in front of your own door before saying anything about the language we use,” he added.
Long-standing political rhetoric
Since launching his first campaign for the White House in 2015, Donald Trump has frequently made incendiary and sometimes vulgar remarks about journalists, political opponents and migrants.
He has often referred to Democratic politicians as “traitors” and journalists as “enemies of the people”.
The US president has also publicly said he was “happy” about the death of a former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation who had overseen an investigation involving him.
One of his first decisions after returning to power was to grant pardons to supporters who attacked the Capitol in January 2021 in an effort to block the formal certification of Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election, which Trump has repeatedly claimed was stolen.
Brief moment of calm
None of that combative rhetoric was present on Saturday evening, when the American president, still wearing his tuxedo, appeared before journalists two hours after an armed man attempted to enter the venue where the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner was to take place.
Trump had decided to attend the event for the first time and even thanked the press for its coverage.
The billionaire spoke calmly, almost distantly, about the incident.
“I would hate to say I feel honoured, but I have achieved a lot. We changed this country, and many people are not happy about that. So I think that was a reaction,” he said about the attack. He also spoke of a moment of “solidarity” and even “love” in the country.
Tensions return quickly
The calm lasted less than 24 hours. On Sunday evening Trump reacted angrily during an interview when CBS News journalist Norah O’Donnell read part of the attacker’s manifesto.
“You’re disgrace,” he told her.
The excerpts referred to the “crimes” of a “paedophile” and “rapist”, though Donald Trump was not mentioned by name.
Trump responded directly: “I am not a rapist. I am not a paedophile.”
“I expected you to read that (…) because you are terrible people,” he added.
Yesterday he also again demanded the dismissal of late-night television host Jimmy Kimmel, whom he accused of inciting violence after a joke about Melania Trump.
In a broadcast last week, before the attack occurred, the comedian had joked that the First Lady was “dazzling like a future widow.”