Trump suspect was 'clearly' influenced by Democrats' rhetoric: Sen. Marco Rubio
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., discusses the impact of rhetoric claiming former President Trump is 'dangerous' and Gov. Greg Abbott's plan to crack down on Venezuelan gangs.
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., tore into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for claiming former President Trump poses "a danger to our country and the world" on the heels of a second apparent attempt on his life.
"If you repeatedly say someone is going to be the next Adolf Hitler or the next Mussolini… you eventually have to conclude that the overwhelming majority of people that see that are going to say, ‘We better vote against this guy,' but there are enough lunatics and nutjobs out there who are going to take the next step and say, ‘Well, this guy is truly evil, this guy is truly dangerous. If our democracy and our system of government is going to be wiped out if this guy wins, I need to take this guy out,'" he told "America's Newsroom" co-anchors Bill Hemmer and Dana Perino on Tuesday.
Rubio continued, speaking of suspect Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, who was taken into custody after being accused of pointing an SKS-style rifle at the former president at the Trump International Golf Course in Palm Beach County, Florida on Sunday.
HILLARY CLINTON SAYS TRUMP POSES ‘DANGER TO OUR COUNTRY AND THE WORLD’ AFTER ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT
Sen. Marco Rubio speaks during the Republican Party of Florida Victory Dinner in Hollywood, Florida, on July 23, 2022. (Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
"We need to learn more about this individual. We need to learn how he got there, how that perimeter wasn't secured, who he was and what was behind it, but I think we know enough about some of the things he's posted to say that he clearly was influenced in some way by this rhetoric about Trump being this dangerous dictator-in-waiting," he said.
The day after the second assassination attempt, Clinton accused Trump of throwing out "red meat" to "get people riled up," and insisted he should be working to "calm the waters" if he were a true leader.
NY TIMES REPORTER WHO ONCE INTERVIEWED MAN BEHIND TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT WAS NOT THAT SURPRISED
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Aug. 19, 2024. Clinton faced criticism after calling former President Trump "a danger to our country and the world" shortly after the second apparent attempt on his life. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)
"We can't go back and give this very dangerous man another chance to do harm to our country and the world," the Democratic presidential candidate said.
Other prominent Democrats, including Vice President Harris and President Biden, have made similar warnings about Trump, insisting he poses a "threat to democracy" and urging voters to rally around their cause.
TRUMP SAYS HE ‘PROBABLY TOOK A BULLET TO THE HEAD’ DUE TO DEM RHETORIC
Trump, meanwhile, placed the blame on such allegedly incendiary rhetoric, telling Fox News Digital, "He [the suspect] believed the rhetoric of Biden and Harris, and he acted on it."
Routh's apparent attempt on Trump's life marks the second time the former president has experienced such threats in a two-month span, the first taking place when gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire on him at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania in July.
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Fox News' David Rutz contributed to this report.
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