Harris breaks silence after GOP leaders say anti-Trump rhetoric ‘risks inviting’ another assassination attempt

Vice President Kamala Harris reiterated “the danger and threat Donald Trump poses to America and the fact that he is unfit to serve” on Friday when asked about Republican leaders’ criticism of her rhetoric.

“Well, listen, we all need to speak out against any form of political violence, and I’m very clear about that. No one should be the subject of violence,” she told reporters, according to a report by the media group.

“But the American people deserve to be presented with facts and truth. And the truth and the truth is that some of those closest to Donald Trump when he was president, generals, including most recently John Kelly, a four-star Marine. overall, they have been very clear about the danger and the threat that Donald Trump poses to America and that he is unfit to serve, and the American people deserve to hear that and know that,” the vice president continued.

Her campaign was initially muted following a call from Republican congressional leaders for her to stop using “dangerous rhetoric” such as referring to Trump as a “fascist.”

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House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., released a relatively rare joint statement Friday asking Harris stop using such rhetoric and reminding him of the two recent assassination attempts against Trump.

“Labeling a political opponent a ‘fascist’ risks inviting another would-be assassin to try to rob voters of their choice before Election Day,” Republican leaders said in the statement less than two weeks before the election.

Harris’ campaign initially declined to comment when contacted by Fox News Digital.

“Vice President Harris may want the American people to entrust him with the sacred duty of executive authority. But first, they must abandon the base and irresponsible rhetoric that endangers both American lives and institutions,” Johnson and McConnell wrote.

“We have both been informed of the continuing and persistent threats against former President Donald Trump by adversaries of the United States, and we are asking the Vice President to take these threats seriously, stop escalating the threat environment, and help us ensure that President Trump has the resources to protect against these threats,” they said.

The statement notes that there have been two assassination attempts against Trump in the past few months, noting that “in the weeks since that second reminder, the Democratic nominee for President of the United States has only stoked the flames under a hot cauldron. political spirit”.

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During a CNN town hall this week, Harris told host Anderson Cooper that she believes Trump is a fascist.

“Yes, yes. Yes, yes,” she told Cooper, when asked if she agreed with retired general Mark Milley, who described Trump as a “fascist to the core” in the journalist. Bob Woodward’s latest book.

Cooper noted that Harris has cited Milley’s quotes about Trump in the past.

Harris went on to refer to new interviews with Trump’s former chief of staff, John Kelly The New York Timesin which he said Trump “definitely fits the general definition of a fascist.”

Kelly also claimed that Trump once told him that “Hitler did some good things too.”

trump card he denied saying that.

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According to Kelly’s interview, he felt the need to speak out because of a recent comment Trump made in an interview on Fox News.

While speaking with Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo on “Sunday Morning Futures,” Trump was asked about concerns about “chaos” on Election Day. The host noted a recent plot by an Afghan refugee that was foiled.

“I think the bigger problem is the enemy within, not even the people who have come in and are destroying (our) country, and by the way, they’re totally destroying our country. The cities, the villages, they’re being flooded,” Trump began.

“But I don’t think they have the problem in terms of election day. I think the bigger problem is the people on the inside. We have some very bad people. We have some sick, crazy people on the radical left,” he said. “It should be handled very easily by, if necessary, the National Guard or, if it’s really necessary, the military, because I can’t let that happen.”

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Harris’ campaign seized on the remark.

According to Johnson and McConnell, “The latest and most reckless invocations of the darkest evil of the 20th century seem to dare to overturn themselves. The vice president’s words sound more like those of President Trump’s second alleged assassin than her earlier ones. appeal to civility”.

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“This summer, after the first assassination attempt on a presidential candidate in more than a century, President Biden insisted that ‘we cannot allow this violence to be normalized.’ In September, after President Trump escaped another close call, Vice President Harris acknowledged that “we all need to do our part to make sure this incident doesn’t lead to more violence,” they stressed.

However, “these words proved empty,” they said.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 election campaign, exclusive interviews and more at the Fox News Digital election center.