Republican congressmen Marc Molinaro and Nick Langworthy are reacting to the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.
Molinaro, who represents New York’s 19th Congressional District, including the cities of Binghamton, Ithaca, Cortland and Oneonta, said congressional lawmakers met with House law enforcement and Capitol police on Sunday.
Molinaro said Mark Green, chair of the Homeland Security Committee, would meet with the head of the Secret Service Monday, and that House committees will begin a thorough investigation of the shooting starting next week.
“We are looking at three components: what happened, how was this individual able to get so close for too long, and what intervention steps should have been taken prior, and should have been taken during, to ultimately have kept this from happening,” Molinaro said.
He added that protocols should be updated to improve security for Trump, President Joe Biden, and independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Speaking to reporters during a virtual press conference Monday, Molinaro said more facts about the incident need to be uncovered by an investigation. But he blamed, in part, language used to describe Trump’s candidacy.
“There are too many who have suggested that President Trump's very existence is a threat to democracy and to America,” Molinaro said. “You can't say those sorts of things and not expect people to be incited by that. But again, I do believe it is ultimately most important that we get the facts.”
Southern Tier Rep. Nick Langworthy, who represents New York’s 23rd Congressional District, including the cities of Corning and Elmira, also called for a “hard reset” on political rhetoric during a press conference over the weekend.
Langworthy said rhetoric surrounding the election has gotten out of hand and led to the attack.
“People that are out there saying that if President Trump's reelected, that the country's doomed, that the country's going to change forever, he's going to ruin democracy. That's what leads us to moments like this,” Langworthy said.
The gunman’s motives are still under investigation. Langworthy also told reporters that this was not a gun control issue.
Langworthy will be attending the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this week, where Donald Trump will formally become the party’s presidential nominee. Molinaro will not be attending the convention, but said he expects a “unifying” speech from Trump.