During a Sunday afternoon CNN panel on the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, analyst Phil Mattingly admonished his colleagues for focusing on what rhetoric may have led the shooter to target the former president, pointing out that violent rhetoric is common at Trump's rallies.
Speaking with host Manu Raju, Mattingly cut right to the chase.
"The number of people I heard from last night, people who aren't diehard Trump supporters who have had just a visceral response to this and their belief that this was driven by things that have occurred, that Democrats have said or Democrats have acted upon over the course of the last year, it's very real whether or not you believe the evidence behind it, " he began.
"The other thing I would say here is look, every speech of Donald Trump gives, he talks about if Joe Biden wins, the country dies. If Joe Biden wins, everything is over — the Constitution falls apart," he continued. "So let's be real here: this isn't because Joe Biden says Donald Trump is an existential threat."
"Both sides are saying the exact same thing here, so let's be a little self-aware about what we're talking about here," cautioned.
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