GOP mayor admonished by reporter for rant about 'theocratic fascist state' after shooting

An interview with a Pennsylvania Republican mayor who was in attendance at the rally when Donald Trump was shot in the ear, went sideways with NBC's Tom Llamas pulling him up short after he went on a rant attacking Trump's critics.

With Llamas standing at the site of the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, he brought on Mayor Jondavid Longo (R) of nearby Slippery Rock to describe what he saw.

Asked if he had any idea what compelled the shooter to attempt killing Trump, Longo admitted he didn't know him and then added, "I couldn't tell you anything more about the motive, sir. I think we all have our own opinions and guesses on why somebody would be driven to do this."

"What I will say is that it is very clear, and I'm going to continue to refer to him as an animal and a maniac who is unwell mentally, and my first thoughts, without knowing motive, is that there's a lot of vitriol and hateful rhetoric that is oftentimes directed at president Trump and his supporters and very some strong language, and very strong language sometimes."

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He continued, "So it is my hope the hateful rhetoric from the left, these claims that Donald J Trump's presidency would destroy any remnant of democracy in the United States or create some kind of theocratic fascist date where women have no rights, it is really my hope that that kind of language didn't motivate this."

'"Yes mayor, I understand that and I don't think it is time to get into a debate about, you know, both sides and who says what because it is too early and fresh and what we need right now is information about why this happened," Llamas interjected.

Watch below or at the link.

MSNBC 07 14 2024 10 08 03 youtu.be