Following the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, a video was released in 2015 of Lincoln Project co-founder Rick Wilson saying that the donor base “has to put a bullet in Donald Trump’s throats.”
In an interview with MSNBC’s Chris Hayes before Trump won the nomination, Wilson said “Trump remains a very powerful force right now” because of Trump’s “nationalism” message that appeals to his supporters, adding that the Republican donor base “cannot sit back and say, ‘Well, don’t worry, everything’s going to be fine.'”
“They’re still going to have to put a bullet in Donald Trump,” Wilson said. “And that’s a fact.”
Although Wilson’s video circulating online identifies the footage as being from 2023, it actually occurred in 2015 and was reported by Breitbart News at the time.
Rick Wilson said that wasn’t the case and that someone had to put a bullet in Trump’s hand.
Damn you.
— Ryan James Girdusky (@RyanGirdusky) July 14, 2024
In another example of extreme rhetoric highlighted by Breitbart News on Saturday, Reid Hoffman, a major Biden donor, said he wished Trump had become a “martyr” before the shootings.
Peter Thiel sarcastically thanked Reid Hoffman for funding a lawsuit against Trump that made him a “martyr” and improved his chances of reelection.
Hoffman quipped wryly from the stage: “Yeah, I wish they’d made him a real martyr.” https://t.co/c9u6ifLvaW
— Dylan Byers (@DylanByers) July 12, 2024
However, the Lincoln Project condemned the assassination attempt from its official Twitter account.
Political violence has no place in American life.
— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) July 13, 2024
Democratic lawmakers, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), strongly condemned the violence and sent their best wishes to former President Donald Trump. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) also condemned the violence.
Political violence is totally unacceptable.
We pray for a speedy recovery for Donald Trump and anyone else who may have been injured.
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) July 13, 2024
Violence has no place in our democracy, and my thoughts are with President Trump and all those affected by today’s rally.
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) July 13, 2024
Before the shooting, President Joe Biden and his supporters, who had condemned the assassination, stressed that a Trump election would mark the end of democracy.
