A spokesperson for the President, Karoline Leavitt, pointed to inflammatory rhetoric from some individuals, including elected Democrats, as the cause of a shooting attempt on Saturday night.

She was asked about the "normalization of violence," specifically referencing a skit by ABC late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel who called the First Lady Melania Trump a "pregnant widow" just two days before the shooter attempted to storm a hotel ballroom filled with reporters, the President, cabinet members, and hundreds of people. Leavitt stated that the United States, and particularly Democrats, should "temper" such rhetoric.

"The Democratic Party as a whole has been pushing to the American voters that Donald Trump is an existential threat to democracy, that he is a fascist, that he is Hitler," she said, adding, "The American people have been subjected to these hateful remarks for years."

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said, "Those responsible must be held accountable." California Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla said, "People are dying because of the fear and terror that the Trump administration has fomented." Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren criticized Trump for making the U.S. look like a "fascist country."

Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) stated in a post on Threads, "Let’s go back to the shooting for a moment… Have we had this many assassination attempts on our president? Maybe it’s because of loose gun laws, maybe it’s because of the lack of mental health funding, or maybe it’s all a hoax… Who knows…"

"These are elected officials who are Democrats who are calling for war against the President of the United States and his supporters," Leavitt said, adding that their rhetoric is "inciting violence in people who are already mentally unstable."

Meanwhile, First Lady Melania Trump and President Trump strongly criticized Jimmy Kimmel.

In a post on X, Mrs. Trump stated, "Kimmel's hateful and violent remarks are intended to divide our country," adding, "His monologue directed at my family is not comedy. His words are harmful and further deepen the political toxicity in our country."

President Trump claimed on Truth Social, "I understand many people are angry with Kimmel’s vile incitement to violence, but normally I wouldn’t respond to his words, but this time it went too far," and asserted, "Disney and ABC should fire Jimmy Kimmel immediately."

In an episode aired on Thursday, Kimmel satirized a White House gala, mocking President Trump and his wife.

In the skit, Kimmel said, "Here's Melania Trump. Melania, you look so beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you shine like a pregnant widow."

Mrs. Trump called Kimmel a "coward" and accused him of "hiding behind the network because he knows the network will continue to protect him."

The First Lady stated, "It's time for ABC to take a stand," and questioned, "How many more terrible actions by Kimmel will the ABC leadership condone while sacrificing our community?"

By Sung Ku Hong, Chief Editor of NNP US / Special Correspondent of this newspaper NNP info@newsandpost.com