CBS anchor Margaret Brennan criticized social media statements following the assassination attempt on former President Trump on Saturday night, saying there was “no need to de-escalate tensions.”
“He’s currently recovering from his injuries, but this was certainly a traumatic event for him,” Brennan told CBS News during a special coverage of the shooting in Butler, Pa. “But what I noticed was that there were no voices trying to ease tensions, condemn any political violence, and really tell his supporters not to retaliate or allow any escalation here.”
In a statement to Truth Social, President Trump thanked the Secret Service and police for their “swift response” to the shooting and offered condolences to the other victims of the incident. Another rally attendee was reportedly killed and two others seriously injured. The shooter was shot and killed by police.
“Most of all, I want to express my condolences to the family of the person who died at the rally and the family of the other person who was seriously injured,” Trump wrote. “It is hard to believe that an act like this could happen in our country. At this time, we do not know anything about the shooter who died. I was shot above my right ear. I knew immediately something was wrong as I heard the hiss and gunfire and felt the bullet penetrate my skin. I was bleeding heavily and knew what was happening. God Bless America!”
Witness accounts after Pennsylvania assassination attempt on Trump: ‘There was blood everywhere’
Republican candidate Donald Trump is photographed being escorted off stage, bleeding from the face and surrounded by Secret Service agents, during a campaign event at the Butler Farm Show in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024. Rebecca Droke/AFP via Getty Images (Rebecca Droke/AFP via Getty Images)
Brennan also expressed concern Thursday that the shooting could incite further violence.
“We want to be clear that we are reporting on this as it unfolds as a historic event, but we are very aware that these types of events have the potential to incite violence and retaliation, and we want no part of that whatsoever,” she said.
Brennan’s comments were met with criticism from conservatives online, and he later addressed them on air, saying he was concerned that Americans were “nervous” in the current climate.
In a separate CBS report on Saturday, former “We’re not going to let it go,” said Samantha Vinograd of the Obama administration. The “biggest threat” she had heard from “officials” was the possibility of “relational violence.”
Vinograd said tensions had been rising before the shooting, and counterterrorism and homeland security officials feared the attempt on Trump would be used as a “rallying cry” by right-wingers to attack Biden campaign officials.
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“This kind of rhetoric is associated with violence. We saw that on Jan. 6th, with the attack on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, and so many other instances,” she said.
