Ex-Trump aide says old boss is one of the 'biggest offenders of escalatory rhetoric'

A former White House director of strategic communications for Donald Trump called for toning down "political rhetoric" following the second assassination plot against Trump — and called her old boss "one of the biggest offenders."

Alyssa Farah Griffin joined CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins on "The Source" on Monday night and said the conversation needs to be about how liberals and conservatives talk about each other. That includes Trump.

"One of the biggest offenders of escalatory rhetoric is Donald Trump and J.D. Vance," she said.

Griffin noted that a clip showing Vance acknowledging he needs to tone down the rhetoric as well also shows Vance pointing the finger at Democrats.

ALSO READ: Behind the legal tactics Trump is using to dodge justice for January 6

"He's basically accusing Democrats of their rhetoric leading to this," said Griffin. "And I think that this moment is a moment for sobriety that calls for serious leadership. And unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be a self-reflective moment even though it was the candidate, Donald Trump, that himself was a victim."

Trump, she noted, also put out what she called a "screed" after the foiled plot, in which he, too, blamed Democrats. In that post, he called Democrats the "enemy from within."

"That's the kind of language our adversaries love to hear us throwing around," Griffin said. "It tears us apart from within. And by the way, it does put people at risk."

Watch the clip below or at this link.