Golden calls to drop ‘hyperbolic threats’ about democracy after Trump assassination attempt

Democratic Rep. Jared Golden (MN) on Sunday called on the nation to cease making “hyperbolic threats” about the stakes of the 2024 election year one day after the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.

Golden expressed deep concern about the current state of American political culture and its implications for the nation’s future after an attempted assassination on Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday.

He said the 2024 election between Trump and President Joe Biden should never be portrayed as a “no-holds-barred struggle between democracy or authoritarianism, or a battle against fascists or socialists intent on destroying America as we know it,” adding “these are dangerous lies.”

“The result is an overwhelming sense of fear and anxiety about the future of our country, where the normal and tested tools of democracy no longer seem adequate to protect the common good. In
this light, a rise of politically motivated violence in America is sadly unsurprising,” Golden added.

Golden’s remarks are not the first time he has called on the nation to cool the temperature of political rhetoric. On July 2, he blasted Democratic colleagues’ “hand-wringing” following last month’s disastrous debate for Biden that has led numerous lawmakers to question whether the 81-year-old president has the mental fortitude to take on Trump in the Nov. 5 election.

“I refuse to participate in a campaign to scare voters with the idea that Trump will end our democratic system,” Golden said earlier this month.

Since the debate, Biden himself has taken to social media to label Trump as a “threat to our democracy,” according to a June 28 post on X, formerly known as Twitter. On July 5, Biden posted that Trump “could become the dictator that he promised to be on day one,” referencing Trump’s previous remarks where he quipped he wouldn’t be a dictator “other than day one.”

On Saturday, hours after a gunman fired shots at the crowd in Butler and killed one attendee while also grazing Trump’s ear with a bullet, Biden briefly addressed the nation and said he was “grateful to hear” that Trump is “safe and doing well” and condemned political violence.

“There is no place in America for this kind of violence,” Biden said Saturday. “It’s sick. It’s sick.”

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Biden addressed the nation for a second time on Sunday afternoon, where he announced he had ordered an independent investigation into the attempted shooting and the security measures surrounding the event.

Additionally, Golden joined three other members of Maine’s delegation on Saturday to condemn political violence, including Republican Sen. Susan Collins, independent Sen. Angus King, and Democratic Rep. Chellie Pingree.