Former US president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump (Trump) faced another assassination attempt last Sunday (September 15th). Renowned American news anchor Chris Cuomo openly criticized the US media and politicians who tried to downplay the assassination attempt on his television program.
In light of Trump experiencing two consecutive assassination attempts in the past two months, the former CNN star anchor spoke out against those he referred to as “attempting to downplay” the event or suggesting the public not “make a big deal” out of it during his “CUOMO” program on NewsNation on Monday (September 16th) night.
Cuomo, facing the camera during the program, said, “What if it was your father? Or if it was Vice President Harris or President Biden?” He expressed frustration that people were more concerned with the Secret Service and budget allocations, “rather than being shocked that something like this is happening in our country.”
In response to those who said, “But the guy didn’t even shoot,” Cuomo passionately stated, “He had an AK-47 pointed at him (Trump).”
Cuomo continued, “This kind of response is unacceptable, this is the second time the media and politicians have downplayed events that should have caused alarm.”
On Tuesday (September 17th), Cuomo took to the social media platform X again, stating, “While I disagree and criticize most of Trump’s remarks, any idea that an assassination attempt on him is justified is shameful.” He noted that those criticizing Trump’s opponents, if they use improper methods to oppose Trump, are no different from those opponents and the “bad guys” they speak of.
Cuomo also expressed that Biden and Harris did not do enough in response to the event during his program.
Following the second assassination attempt on Trump, Harris posted on X, stating, “I am grateful that he (Trump) is safe. Violence has no place in America.”
Biden, in a statement, expressed relief that the former president was unharmed. Law enforcement officials are actively investigating the incident to gather more details.
The incident occurred near the Trump International Golf Course in Palm Beach County, Florida, where Trump was playing golf on Sunday.
On that day, Secret Service agents found a gun protruding from the fence about 500 yards from where the former president was playing golf. The agents engaged in gunfire with the gunman, firing at least four shots. The gunman dropped the weapon, fled in a vehicle, was witnessed by bystanders, and photos of the car and license plate were taken. Subsequently, the suspect, 58-year-old Hawaii resident Ryan Wesley Routh, was arrested.