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SALT LAKE CITY — Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are expressing relief that former President Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday.
This includes former Utah state Sen. Scott Howell, a surrogate for the Biden campaign, who said he was grateful Trump wasn't killed and for the Secret Service's quick action to protect him.
Howell also said he supports President Joe Biden's quick decision to order an independent inquiry into the shooting. "But," he added, "the reality is that we have to look at gun violence in America." Howell noted Pennsylvania's open-carry law and said he supports ordinances that would disallow "firearms within a mile of any outdoor groups," like political rallies, concerts or sporting events.
"I hope that ... President Biden and former President Trump will take the high road and call for a calming across the United States, across the world," he said. "It's fine to, as Gov. (Spencer) Cox says, 'Disagree Better,' and it's not a time for political rhetoric at all."
Howell said despite the political differences between the two parties, he observed most Democrats expressing sympathy over the tragedy.
Howell: Talk of Biden stepping aside 'wiped out'
Howell said the Biden campaign planned to meet at the beach house in Delaware last weekend to discuss the president running for a second term with his family. But the plan changed. After issuing a statement on the shooting, Biden "hopped on Air Force One, flew back to Washington, D.C., got his staff (and) all of the cabinet, and they had a conversation about making sure that former President Trump had the highest security," Howell said. "It wiped out this whole conversation about who should be the nominee."
He said he expects polling in the coming days and weeks to determine who voters in the middle, especially in the seven key states, want as their president with less than 100 days until the presidential election.
"When you have a tragedy like what happened on Saturday, sometimes emotion takes over in a voter's heart, other times you need time to heal and see what happens," he said. Howell said he expected the Biden camp to continue emphasizing Trump's long list of felony convictions.
"Is that going to hang on the minds of those voters? Will they vote for a convicted felon? Was the tragedy enough for redemption for those voters?" he asked.
Bernie Sanders, national Democrats emphasize the need for politics to be peaceful
In an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press," progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said the attack was "un-American" and that "politics should be kind of boring."
"I think in this traumatic moment, it's time for all of us to take a deep breath, remember what this is about and what political campaigns are about," he said.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said she was thankful the former president was "unharmed."
"As one whose family has been the victim of political violence, I know firsthand that political violence of any kind has no place in our society," she said Saturday on social media. Pelosi was referring to the attack on her husband Paul Pelosi in 2022.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., also rejected the politically charged violence on X, and as did House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.
Utah state Rep. Brian King, D-Salt Lake City, running for governor, called it a "dark day for American democracy" and said, "Violence is never acceptable." Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall echoed these statements, saying, the incident was "abhorrent," in a post on X.
But not all lawmakers reacted the same way. Colorado state Rep. Steven Woodrow, a Democrat, in a post on X, on the night of the shooting, said, "The last thing America needed was sympathy for the devil but here we are." Woodrow deleted the post shortly after and told CPR News he condemned the attempt to take Trump's life.
"My message, as inarticulate as it was, is that acts of violence like this are awful and only make it more likely that Trump now wins. We must always resolve our differences peacefully at the ballot box — not through violence. I know people are hurting, and apologize that my words caused additional pain," Woodrow said. Colorado Republican lawmakers called on him to resign but Woodrow declined to.
Will the Biden campaign change its course?
Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., said it is a "chaotic" moment for his party, which is struggling over questions on Biden's candidacy amid calls for him to step aside.
Phillips said whether Biden should be replaced is no longer the main focus. "An American is dead, a former president and others are wounded, and a shell-shocked country is left wondering how to restore reason and respect," he told Axios. "It would be unpatriotic and unprincipled to direct energy to anything other than yesterday's national tragedy over the coming days. The only conversation about President Biden should be about how he can console our country, address the anger, and meet the moment."
