Violence has no place in politics, Georgia and South Carolina leaders say
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - The Donald Trump assassination attempt can seem to shake the stability of democracy, especially for the couple of generations that haven’t seen a serious assassination attempt.
Since the weekend, we have heard from leaders across Georgia and South Carolina.
And the message from those leaders has a common thread.
Several local leaders were each asked for the same thing — an end to political violence.
Many of them say they were shocked and heartbroken to learn the news.
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Across political spectrum, leaders condemn Trump shooting
After Donald Trump’s campaign said in a statement that he was “fine” after being whisked off the stage at a rally, local and state leaders have released statements.
“Not knowing whether or not he was alive or dead. We had just heard that he’d been shot,” said Jim Oremus, vice chairman of the Aiken County Republican Party.
Sam Hodge, chair of the Columbia County Democratic committee, said: “It was appalling. It was disheartening. It was un-American, and it left me speechless.”
And all of them denounce political violence.
“As President Biden said last night in his address in the Oval Office, we have to resolve our political differences at the ballot box, not through political violence,” said Hodge.
Oremus said: “For politics to be something that people riot about; I just don’t understand that it’s not that important that people should want to riot.”
Commissioner Jordan Johnson is the chair of the Richmond County Democratic Party. He and the Aiken County Democratic Party echoed similar sentiments.
“What we witnessed is not a reflection of our values as a nation and certainly not as a county. Let us stand together against any form of political violence and work towards a future where our differences are settled through dialogue and democratic processes,” said Johnson in a statement.
Oremus says he feels political violence is not an issue in Aiken County.
Hodge says he hopes the Columbia County community re to stray away from resolving political indifferences with violence, especially during the next four months.
Politicians from both sides of the aisle have united in denouncing the assassination attempt even as they disagree on policy.
“All ed voters in Georgia are now going to have to deal with this as a challenge that we have to overcome, and I would say don’t lose faith in the process,” state Sen. Max Burns said.
“Don’t abandon the ideas of democracy, but participate peacefully,” he continued. “It’s OK to disagree. We can have legitimate differences, but we cannot resort to violence.”
The shocking attempt on Trump’s life has brought into stark relief the toxic climate in America’s political life. While the details of the shooter’s motive remain unclear, the violence is a further gauge of how what was once unacceptable, if not unthinkable, in American society has become painfully commonplace.
As the 2024 election enters a crucial phase ahead of the national conventions, how the nation responds will test the first presidential contest since 2020, an election that became defined by efforts to overturn Trump’s defeat and the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
On Sunday, civic leaders, pastors and elected officials from President Joe Biden on down appealed to Americans for unity, urging an end to vitriol.
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“We can’t allow this violence to be normalized,” Biden said in an evening address to the nation from the Oval Office.
Burns, agrees, as do other politicians across the two-state region.
Sunday morning at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock said he was saddened by Saturday’s events.
The Democrat delivered a 10-minute sermon condemning political violence of all stripes.
“This is not about red and blue, this is not about right and left,” Warnock said. “This is about right and wrong. The violence we saw yesterday was wrong.”
Senator Warnock also added that the man who targeted Trump was no patriot, comparing him to those that raided U.S. Capitol on January 6th, 2021.
“They are cut from the same cloth,” he said. “We must call out the hypocrisy of anyone who would try to condone one and not condemn the other.”
Republican Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr agrees, calling the shooting unconscionable.
“Violence has no place in the American political system. None,” he tweeted. “This attack and any like it cannot be tolerated.”
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