Kamala Harris revealed that she phoned Donald Trump to check in and see if he was OK after the second assassination attempt on his life Sunday, saying she reiterated her public statement to the former president and Republican nominee condemning political violence.
“I checked on Trump to see if he was OK. I told him what I have said publicly: There is no place for political violence in our country,” Harris said during a live joint sit-down conversation with the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) and WHYY-FM radio station.
“I am in this election, in this race for many reasons, including to fight for our democracy,” Harris added. “And in a democracy, there is no place for political violence. We can and should have healthy debates and discussion and disagreements, but not resort to violence to resolve those issues.”
On Sunday, shots were fired at Trump’s at Palm Beach golf club shortly before 2 p.m. Eastern when Secret Service spotted a shooter with a scope on his rifle , now identified as Ryan Routh, waiting in surrounding shrubbery. Trump was several hundred meters behind Secret Service and the shooter and was not hurt in the incident. An AK-47-style weapon was retrieved from the scene. Routh fled the scene and was apprehended north of the resort in his car.
It’s the second time an attempt has been made on Trump’s life. The first incident took place in Pennsylvania on July 14 while he was holding a campaign rally. Trump’s ear was grazed by one of the bullets from 20-year-old shooter Thomas Matthews Crook, who was shot dead by law enforcement at the scene.
Following the shooting, the United States Secret Service tightened up its security plans for the Republican National Convention. When asked if she felt fully confident in the Secret Service’s ability to protect her and her loved ones on Tuesday, Harris said she does.
“I do, but I mean, you can go back to Ohio — not everybody has Secret Service, and there are far too many people in our country right now who are not feeling safe. I look at Project 2025, and I look at the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ laws coming out of Florida. Members of the LGBTQ community don’t feel safe right now. Immigrants or people with an immigrant background don’t feel safe right now. Women don’t feel safe right now, and so, yes, I feel safe. I have Secret Service protection, but that doesn’t change my perspective on the importance of fighting for the safety of everybody in our country,” Harris said. “And in doing everything we can to again, lift people up and not beat people down so they feel alone and are made to feel small and made to feel like they’re somehow not a part of it or us.”
Harris was interviewed by panel of three NABJ members: White House correspondent and managing editor of politics at theGrio, Gerren Keith Gaynor; “Playbook” co-author and White House correspondent for Politico, Eugene Daniels; and co-host of WHYY’s “Fresh Air With Terry Gross and Tonya Mosley,” Tonya Mosley.
Check out the full conversation here.
Leave a Reply