Trump blasts Biden-Harris admin for denying requests for extra Secret Service while spreading rhetotic that incites assassins

In an interview that aired on Tuesday night, 2024 GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump told Dr. Phil that Joe Biden had "made it very tough" to have enough Secret Service members at the rally on the day would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire, all the while spreading rhetoric that may have incited the assassination attempt.

Dr. Phil questioned whether Trump thought that Kamala Harris and Joe Biden were "okay" with him being shot, asking, "I’m not saying that they wanted you to get shot, but do you think it was OK with them if you did?" Trump said "I don’t know," adding, "There’s a lot of hatred. I don’t know why." 

Trump later added in the interview regarding the assassination attempt at the Butler, Pennsylvania rally in July, "When this happened, people would ask, whose fault is it? I think to a certain extent it’s Biden’s fault and Harris’ fault."

"Look, they were weaponizing government against me, they brought in the whole DOJ to try and get me, they weren’t too interested in my health and safety," he said. Trump also stated that "they were making it very difficult for us to have proper staffing in terms of Secret Service."

Trump later suggested that rhetoric from the left, including Joe Biden, led to the assassination attempt. "They’re saying I’m a threat to democracy. They would say that, that was standard line, just keep saying it, and you know that can get assassins or potential assassins going. That’s a terrible thing," he said, adding, "Maybe that bullet is because of their rhetoric."

The White House was questioned about Biden’s rhetoric following the assassination attempt and whether Biden would "cool it down," to which press secretary Karine Jean Pierre said there would be "nothing different" about his messaging to the American people.

While Biden was still in the 2024 race, he had told donors in the week leading up to the assassination attempt that "it’s time to put Trump in a bullseye," and following the debate Biden had said "Donald Trump is a genuine threat to this nation. He's a threat to our freedom. He's a threat to our democracy. He's literally a threat to everything America stands for."