GOP congressman: Country is ‘fraying at the edges’

Rep. Gary Palmer (R-Ala.) expressed deep concern with the state of political discourse in the U.S. one day after a gunman opened fire on a congressional GOP baseball practice.

“The country is fraying at the edges and we’ve got to pull the country back together,” Palmer said Thursday on “Fox & Friends.”

.@USRepGaryPalmer: We have to be able to re-establish civil discourse, otherwise the future of the nation is in grave danger. pic.twitter.com/913xYhd0lD

— FOX & friends (@foxandfriends) June 15, 2017

“We’ve got to be able to re-establish a civil discourse, otherwise the future of the nation is in grave danger,” he added.

{mosads}The Alabama congressman said an improvement in civil discourse had to come from a variety of communities and entities within the U.S.

“You’ll see it from leadership on both sides of the aisle, but we’ve got to see it in the entire community of America. It’s got to come from the media, it’s got to come from the pundits, who work social media. It’s not just the rhetoric from the politicians, it’s across the board,” he continued.

Palmer was at the baseball practice in Alexandria, Va., Wednesday when an shooter targeted Republican members of Congress, leaving House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) in critical condition and injuring four others.

The gunman, who was identified as James Hodgkinson of Belleville, Ill., had posted anti-Trump and anti-Republican posts on social media.

Hodgkinson died after being taken down by police.