Three of the finalists to be former president Donald Trump’s running mate have responded in different ways to Saturday’s shooting at a Pennsylvania rally, which the authorities have called an assassination attempt.
As many elected officials have over the past 24 hours, Sens. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, issued public statements responding to the shooting.
Vance’s statement stood out for its political attack on Trump’s opponent. He took to social media Saturday night, even as public information about the shooting and suspect was limited, to blame President Biden’s campaign rhetoric.
“Today is not just some isolated incident,” he posted on X. “The central premise of the Biden campaign is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs. That rhetoric led directly to President Trump’s attempted assassination.”
Biden has condemned Saturday’s attack in Pennsylvania and called on Americans to reject political violence.
After Trump announced that he would head to Milwaukee on Sunday for the Republican National Convention as planned, Vance posted: “The dude is just built different.”
The Trump campaign has been aiming to name a running mate by Monday, the first day of the convention. As of Sunday afternoon, a pick had not been announced.
Rubio invoked his Christian faith as he weighed in on the shooting. He posted the image of Trump defiantly pumping his fist in the air, as he was rushed offstage, writing on X: “God protected President Trump.”
Vance and Rubio also criticized the news media’s coverage and posted a link to a fundraiser for the victims of the shooting.
Burgum posted the same image of Trump that Rubio used and wrote: “We all know President Trump is stronger than his enemies. Today he showed it.”
He also said that he and his wife were praying “for President Trump, his family and everyone attending the rally.”
