BOISE, Idaho — Idaho lawmakers are responding to the recent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump with calls for unity and a focus on pressing issues.
- Congressman Russ Fulcher highlighted the increase in threats faced by elected officials and emphasized the need to dial down negative rhetoric.
- During the first day of the Republican National Convention, it was announced that Ohio Senator JD Vance has been selected as Trump's running mate.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story.)
"Well, tragically, I am not surprised," says Idaho Congressman Russ Fulcher. "All of us within Congress said, and I know many elected officials around the country have seen, an increase in threats."
Idaho Lawmakers are reacting to the assassination attempt of Donald Trump.
"I’ve been through a number of different campaigns, but this one is vitriolic beyond any within memory. The rhetoric and the aggression have just been off the charts.
"We need to just focus on the issues. We need to dial down a lot of these negative exchanges and just focus on issues and try to build some American unity. I believe that’s the direction that the party is going in within this convention. That’s what I’ve been told. Speeches are being rewritten, that dialogue is changing, and it needs to. Hopefully, we’ll get that done, and I want to be a part of that," says Congressman Fulcher.
Day 1 of the Republican National Convention also bringing the announcement that United States Senator from Ohio, JD Vance, has been selected as Trump’s running mate.
"Well, first of all, I think it’s a good pick," says Congressman Fulcher. "The positive news on the Republican side is that I think there were a number of people in the queue who were very solid candidates for this, and JD Vance was one of them. Obviously, he’s the pick now, and I think that’s a good one. We have so many issues within this party that need to be dealt with. We have an open border situation, we’ve got inflation, we’ve got two hot wars in the Middle East and in Europe, and it’s those types of things we need to be spending our energy on addressing, not trying to tear each other down. That’s a very simple way to redirect the conversation where it needs to go."
