RNC Chair Says It’s Unfair to Link GOP to Violence

RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said linking Republican rhetoric to political violence is unfair amid questions over the motive behind Friday’s attack on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) husband, The Hill reports.

Said McDaniel: “Well, I think that’s unfair. I think this is a deranged individual. You can’t say people saying, ‘let’s fire Pelosi’ or ‘let’s take back the House’ is saying ‘go do violence.’ It’s just unfair.”

She added: “And I think we all need to recognize violence is up across the board.”

Washington Post: Republicans blame ‘both sides’ for political violence after Paul Pelosi attack.

The Economist: “Although the attempt to assassinate Mrs Pelosi may have been amateurish, it would be a mistake to dismiss it as an outlier incident committed by a deranged man. As American politics have grown more feverish, the number of near-misses has been rising at a disturbing pace.”