RNC chair says linking GOP rhetoric to political violence is ‘just unfair’

Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel on Sunday said linking Republican rhetoric to political violence is unfair amid questions over the motive behind Friday’s attack on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) husband.

After Paul Pelosi was attacked at home Friday by an intruder looking for the Speaker, some Democrats tied the incident — and the rise of political violence nationwide — to extreme GOP rhetoric.

“Well, I think that’s unfair. I think this is a deranged individual. You can’t say people saying, ‘let’s fire Pelosi’ or ‘let’s take back the House’ is saying ‘go do violence.’ It’s just unfair,” McDaniel said on “Fox News Sunday” with host Shannon Bream.

“And I think we all need to recognize violence is up across the board,” the RNC Chairwoman added, noting an attack earlier this year at a campaign event for New York’s GOP gubernatorial nominee and Rep. Lee Zeldin (R), as well as a threat against conservative Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh after the court overturned Roe v. Wade this summer.

McDaniel instead suggested Democratic policies were to blame for the uptick in political violence.

“But, of course, we wish Paul Pelosi a recovery. We don’t like this at all across the board. We don’t want to see attacks on any politician from any political background,” McDaniel said.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) responded to Paul Pelosi’s attack with similar sentiments, expressing sympathies for the family but writing on Twitter that “violence and crime are rampant in Joe Biden’s America.”

Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) hit back, writing “YOU called for Nancy Pelosi to be executed, @RepMTG. YOU said she should be hung for treason. And now that someone listened, you’re making Paul Pelosi’s attack about YOU. This is what Republicans stand for, America. It’s sick.”

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