George Stephanopoulos suggests MAGA ‘violent rhetoric’ led to assassination attempt on Trump

Co-host Martha Raddatz had brought up posts from Sen. JD Vance and Vivek Ramaswamy that said left-wing rhetoric had led up to the assassination attempt on Trump and then said there is “no evidence of that” and added, “We do not know the motive of that shooter at this point.”

When Raddatz said that there would be conspiracy theories stemming from the shooting, Stephanopoulos responded, "No, no question about that. But as you point out those statements from J.D. Vance and Vivek Ramaswamy, of course, President Trump and his supporters have – have contributed to this violent rhetoric as well.”

Co-host Martha Raddatz suggested that conspiracy theories regarding the shooting are a product of a negative political climate created by Trump and used the debunked narrative that the former President warned of a “bloodbath” to back up her claims.

“Trump in January warned of bedlam in the country if the criminal charges against him succeeded. And of course, in March he said, ‘Now, if I don’t get elected, it’s going to be a bloodbath for the whole — that’s going to be the least of it, it’s going to be a bloodbath for the country.’”

Rather than bloodshed, Trump was discussing the potential loss of jobs in the auto industry if he isn’t elected in November.

On Sunday, House Speaker Mike Johnson blamed Democrats for the current political climate in the US. He told The Today Show, “When the message goes out constantly that the election of Donald Trump would be a threat to democracy and the Republic would end, it heats up the environment.” Trump has been repeatedly compared to Hitler in the mainstream media and by Democratic politicians.