House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Sunday dismissed criticism that former President Trump “missed an opportunity” to promote unity following the attempted assassination on his life, arguing the former president’s recent attacks on political rivals are “campaign rhetoric.”
ABC News anchor Martha Raddatz on Sunday pointed to Trump’s remarks at a Saturday rally, during which he went after Vice President Harris for her laugh, along with former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and President Biden, whom he called a “sick, weak, pathetic band.”
When Raddatz asked if Trump missed an opportunity to promote unity, Johnson said, “No, he hasn’t. Look, there’s campaign rhetoric on both sides … there has been.”
“Remember, it was less than a week and a half ago that President Biden said we’re gonna put Donald Trump in the crosshairs effectively and put him in the center of the bull’s-eye,” Johnson said. “He said now he retracted that statement.”
In a campaign call with donors earlier this month, Biden used the “bull’s-eye” term as Democrats mounted pressure for the president to step aside from the 2024 race.
“It’s time to put Trump in the bull’s-eye,” Biden said on the call.
In an interview with NBC News following the attempt on Trump’s life, Biden suggested it may have been a mistake to use the term.
“Was it a mistake to use the word? I didn’t mean, I didn’t say crosshairs, I meant bull’s-eyes,” Biden told NBC’s Lester Holt, making a circle with his hands in front of him. “I meant focus on him, focus on what he’s doing, focus on his policies, focus on the number of lies he told in the debate.”
Johnson noted the nation is “in the midst of a heated campaign” in defense of Trump’s rhetoric.
“It’s beyond disputed that President Trump has been the most attacked and maligned public figure in the history of the country,” he said.
“I articulate things in a certain way, and Donald Trump does as well, but his grievances, as you said, are because he has been the subject of so many attacks,” Johnson said. “I mean, they have turned the justice system against him because [he’s] a political opponent of the sitting president.”
This is a likely reference to the various criminal cases Trump faces amid the 2024 election.
The scrutiny on Trump comes just over a week after he was shot at during a campaign rally, which left his ear wounded. One spectator was killed, and two attendees were injured.
In the immediate aftermath of the attempted assassination, Trump called for Americans to unite and not “allow evil to win.” He later said he rewrote his speech, delivered last week at the Republican National Convention, to help “bring the country together.”
While the start of his speech appeared to show a different side of Trump, much of the speech was notable for how similar it was to his typical campaign rallies.
He called Pelosi “Crazy Nancy Pelosi,” while mocking a CBS News Sunday morning program as “Deface the Nation.” He also accused Democrats of cheating in elections.
In a prime-time address a day after the shooting, Biden made a plea to Americans to lower the temperature in politics.