Former FBI agent calls out heated rhetoric about Trump leading to violence
Former FBI agent Tim Clemente told CNN that rhetoric equating former President Trump to a dictator led to another attempt on his life.
Former FBI agent Tim Clemente said heated rhetoric equating former President Trump to a dictator likely led to the latest assassination attempt on Sunday.
"I would think we‘re going to find that this guy is extremely politically motivated," Clemente said of suspect Ryan Routh, during a CNN appearance.
Clemente said Routh was "probably was spurred on by much of the political diatribes that are going on these days, talking about Trump, equating him to Hitler and things like that."
"So I don‘t think this is the last we‘ll see of crazies out there trying to do this," he warned.
NBC'S LESTER HOLT: TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT FOLLOWS CAMPAIGN'S ‘INCREASINGLY FIERCE RHETORIC’
President Trump famously raised his fist and yelled "fight" to the crowd after surviving an assassination attempt in July. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Trump was golfing Sunday at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Fla., when Secret Service agents thwarted the assassination attempt, firing on the suspect, who authorities say was poking a rifle through a hole in the fence about 300 yards, ahead of the former president.
CNN host Erin Burnett asked Clemente to weigh in on the "unprecedented" moment in time when there's been two assassination attempts against a former president over the course of nine weeks.
"It is unprecedented in a civilized society. And I think we‘re becoming more and more uncivilized, sadly, with the political diatribes that are going on and the political indictments of either candidate," Clemente responded.
He went on to blame media pundits calling Trump "Hitler" for his "bloodbath" comments about the auto industry as an example of rhetoric that's "led to" these attempts on Trump's life.
Members of the FBI are seen at the crime scene outside the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on September 15, 2024, following a shooting incident at former US president Donald Trump's golf course. Trump's campaign reported Sunday that there had been "gunshots in his vicinity" but added that the Republican presidential candidate was safe. (CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images)
"And sadly, the finger pointing at Trump has led to — the line about the bloodbath, talking about the auto industry, being used as if he‘s going to create a bloody coup if he loses, — that kind of verbiage is something you use in a Third World country when you‘re talking about a dictator. That, sadly, has led to, I think, these attempts on Trump‘s life and I don‘t think it‘s going to end," he said.
"I think we just have to realize, look, we‘re political opponents, you and I might not agree on 50% of what we care about politically. It doesn‘t matter, it doesn‘t mean we can‘t be friends, neighbors, relatives, and have a regular dialogue every day, we have to get back to that," he continued.
The comments were shared on X by Newsbusters managing editor Curtis Houck.
Former FBI agent Tim Clemente blamed political rhetoric about Trump for the second assassination attempt. (CNN/Screenshot)
In an interview with Fox News Digital, the former president pointed to rhetoric from President Biden and Vice President Harris calling him a "threat to democracy" for motivating the shooter.
"He believed the rhetoric of Biden and Harris, and he acted on it," Trump said of the gunman. "Their rhetoric is causing me to be shot at, when I am the one who is going to save the country, and they are the ones that are destroying the country — both from the inside and out."
Routh previously echoed Biden and Harris' anti-Trump comments, that "Democracy is on the ballot" on his social media pages this year, and that Democrats "cannot lose."
Biden and Harris both condemned "political violence" in statements following the assassination attempt and commended the Secret Service for protecting Trump.
A new poll ahead of Tuesday’s ABC News Presidential Debate shows Vice President Kamala Harris leading former President Trump by eight percentage points among likely voters in Virginia. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images.)
Biden said he was "relieved" that the former president was unharmed.
"As I have said many times, there is no place for political violence or for any violence ever in our country, and I have directed my team to continue to ensure that Secret Service has every resource, capability and protective measure necessary to ensure the former President’s continued safety," he said.
Harris also said she is "thankful" Trump "is safe," while reiterating Biden's pledge to direct resources to the Secret Service.
Fox News' Stephen Sorace and Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
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