TRANSCRIPT
Donald Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, is calling for a reduction in heated political rhetoric following what appeared to be a second assassination attempt on the former president.
Speaking in Atlanta, Mr Vance criticised Democrats, accusing them of fuelling violence by labelling Trump a fascist and a threat to democracy.
"We cannot tell the American people that one candidate is a fascist. And if he is elected, it is going to be the end of American democracy. We cannot, as a person affiliated with Kamala Harris has said that we need to, quote, eliminate Donald J. Trump. A New York Democratic congressman has said that in the past. If you tell the American people that this person is the end of democracy, if you tell the American people that this person needs to be eliminated, most of them, thank God, are going to ignore you, but some crazy person is going to take matters into their own hands and actually listen to the crazy rhetoric that you're putting out there."
He adds that while conservatives aren’t blameless, the recent attacks on Mr Trump highlight a dangerous escalation, noting that no one has tried to assassinate Ms Harris.
"The big difference between conservatives and liberals is that we, no one has tried to kill Kamala Harris in the last couple of months. And two people now have tried to kill Donald Trump in the last couple of months. I'd say that's pretty strong evidence that the left needs to tone down the rhetoric and needs to cut this crap out. Somebody's going to get hurt by it and it's going to destroy this country. Somebody is going to get hurt. And you think about what an incredible wound it would open up in the United States of America."
White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre has strongly rejected the assertion that U-S President Joe Biden and Vice President Harris' remarks were responsible for the assassination attempts on Mr Trump.
"The president and the vice president have always forcefully, forcefully condemned violence in all forms, including political violence. And we certainly have never encouraged any violence in any way. If anything, this is a president and a vice president who have been pretty forceful about that."
Ms Jean-Pierre says that Mr Vance highlighting that no one has tried to shoot Ms Harris is dangerous rhetoric.
"When you have that type of language out there, it's dangerous. It's dangerous because people look up to that particular national leader and they listen to you when you are a national leader and when you make comments like that, all it does is create or opens an opportunity for people to listen to you and potentially take you very seriously."
Mr Trump is holding a rally in Flint, Michigan, his first since the alleged attempt on his life.
A large crowd of supporters were there to cheer him on.
Among them is 44-year-old Christena Kincaid.
"Well, I have to be here for Trump. They just tried to assassinate him again and I was there in Butler and I'm having like a lot of PSTD since Butler and this, I have to come out here and show that I'm strong too, because this man's out here taking bullets for us. So I have to be strong too."
The man who stands accused of attempting to assassinate Mr Trump has been identified as 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh.
Routh had frequently posted on social media about the war in Ukraine and had a website where he sought to raise money and recruit volunteers to go to Kyiv to join the fight against the Russian invasion.
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi denies Routh had any official relationship with his country.
"We want to emphasise that this suspect has no ties to the Ukrainian government institutions and has never fought for Ukraine as part of the International Legion or other units of Ukraine's defence forces. We urge everyone to refrain, refrain from artificially linking the suspect's actions to Ukraine. The bottom line is that the US is our key ally and we have, we enjoy support in both parties."
Ahead of November, election officials are increasing protections for workers, volunteers, and voters due to concerns over heightened political rhetoric and threats.
This has been worsened by the false claims of a stolen 2020 election, rigged voting machines, and widespread fraud.
In the last year, a gunshot was fired at the Cuyahoga County election office in Ohio, and several offices received letters containing suspicious white powder, some testing positive for fentanyl.
Senior election officials in several states have also faced swatting incidents involving false emergency calls leading to responses by heavily armed police officers.
In Durham County, North Carolina, a multi-million dollar project is converting a former grocery store into a new election office after a federal security review cited some concerns.
Derek Bowens is Durham County elections director.
“So, 2020 taught us a lot. And we're expanding a lot of security tools and protocols to make sure we're in the best posture to respond to any incidents and ensure we have a secure election as we've had in the past.”
This comes as the United States welcomes world leaders to the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
U-S Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, says this is a critical time for the world as a number of major conflicts are raging.
But she says New York is safe for the heads-of-state who are convening at the United Nations headquarters.
"Knock on wood, we have never had a security incident related to heads of state here. We have pulled out all the stops. New York City has police everywhere. Diplomatic security is supporting Secret Service to also provide security for all the heads of state who will be here in town. The situation that happened with President Trump is unacceptable. You heard what the president has said on that. And we have a responsibility to do everything possible to protect the heads of state who are coming here, but also protect our own political leaders."
