Left-wing figures attacked the GOP, Trump supporters and other conservatives following the assault on Paul Pelosi, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, on Friday.
According to San Francisco police, Paul Pelosi was attacked with a hammer by 42-year-old David DePape in the couple’s California home. DePape was arrested while Paul Pelosi is expected to make a full recovery.
Even prior to full details being released on both the attack and the suspect, some notable public figures immediately blamed Republicans and suggested that this was the result of their political rhetoric.
Former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was one of many to respond.
"The Republican Party and its mouthpieces now regularly spread hate and deranged conspiracy theories. It is shocking, but not surprising, that violence is the result. As citizens, we must hold them accountable for their words and the actions that follow," she tweeted.
Other left-leaning media figures also attacked Republicans in their response to the attack.
"Some GOP like McConnell & Romney, condemned attack on Paul Pelosi. Most remained silent. Others made jokes. Others suggested attacker be released. Others tried to score points by comparing to Rand Paul getting decked by his neighbor. This from the Party of ‘Christian values,’ "The View" host Ana Navarro-Cárdenas tweeted.
CNN senior political commentator David Axelrod wrote, "There are those who will dismiss the meaning of the assault on Pelosi as the act of a lone, unsettled man. But he was echoing far-right conspiracy theories, legitimated by cynical people for their own purposes. There were many hands on that hammer."
MSNBC host Joe Scarborough criticized the New York Times for not placing the story higher on the front page, claiming that it was proof of how "numb" the public has become of "fascist violence."
"The New York Times put the attempted assassination of the United States Speaker of the House below the fold. If you want to know just how numb America has become to Trump’s inspiring of fascist violence, here it is," Scarborough tweeted.
In June, the New York Times ran the story of the thwarted assassination attempt of Justice Brett Kavanaugh on page 20.
BILL MAHER: THE PAUL PELOSI ATTACK IS LATEST IN THE ‘COLD CIVIL WAR’
"It was an assassination attempt, an extension of January 6th, the full expression of the new mantra of a political party gone insane. Call it that! I WANT Biden to state this MAGA terrorism was inspired by Trump," far-left podcast host Keith Olbermann quoted himself from his podcast "Countdown with Keith Olbermann."
HuffPost White House correspondent S.V. Dáte wrote, "People bringing up the left-wing nut who tried to kill Steve Scalise and other Rs are missing the point. The former Republican president and current GOP leader has been stoking political violence since 2015, energetically so since Dec. 19, 2020. There is no analog among Dems."
Actor Rob Reiner tweeted, "Donald Trump has been spreading The Big Lie for 2 years. The violent assault on Paul Pelosi and the attempt to murder Speaker Pelosi is directly related to that Lie. Donald Trump is 100% responsible for this and Jan.6. He must be indicted and never be allowed to hold office."
Former CBS anchor Dan Rather co-authored a piece on "Political Violence" with Elliot Kirschner that linked the attack to Jan. 6 and primarily attacked the GOP for fomenting violence.
"We should not be shocked that this happened. We have seen the storm clouds of political violence assemble. There is a direct line from January 6 to today. And it stretches even farther backward. We should be very careful about using the term 'fascism,' but a political system plunging toward normalized violence and instability is one that is taking on very dark undertones," Rather and Kirschner wrote.
They added, "There is a swelling mass hysteria on the political right. It is lubricated by lies, bigotry, misplaced grievances, and apocalyptic rhetoric. It can be found in the memes on social media, the chants of 'lock her up,' the armed patrols of voting drop boxes, and certainly the violent attempted coup at the Capitol."
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Several Republican figures condemned the attack against Paul Pelosi, but some Democratic figures continued to suggest the attack was politically motivated. Though some left-leaning media outlets pointed out that the suspect DePape allegedly took wrote pro-Trump and anti-Democrat blog posts, reports from purported friends of the suspect claimed that he was "mentally ill."
