U-S Senator Dick Durbin called it a miracle that Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt Saturday at a Pennsylvania rally. Durbin said Monday he has no explanation for how a shooter would have been able to get a clear line of sight on the former president.
Durbin said Congress needs to ask tough questions.
“How could the official counter-sniper team have executed this man so quickly? He was in their line of sight and they were able to respond so quickly. And yet, not identify him in advance before he fired these rounds. These are fundamental questions I’ve asked myself and I’ve asked them. They don’t have the answers yet," Durbin said.
The Democrat who is Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee said he received an FBI briefing, but it shed little light on what happened.
"It’s remarkable how unremarkable this shooter is," said Durbin, adding there doesn't appear to be anything extraordinary in his political ideology that would lead a person to commit such an act. Hearings are planned later this month.
Durbin said heightened security is expected for candidates through the election and at the conventions. He also says an attendee at the rally, shot and killed while shielding his family, died a hero.
The senator also said he was on board with providing security for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. who has mounted an independent bid for the White House. The Department of Homeland Security turned down a request previously. But in the wake of the assassination attempt on Trump, President Biden ordered a change Monday.
"When Barack Obama ran for President, he received so many threats that we took those to leaders in Congress and they voted on a bipartisan basis to give him the earliest Secret Service protection in the history of the United States," Durbin said. "So I would say we should respond with the protection of major candidates as it is warranted and I'm not going to presume anybody qualifies or doesn't qualify."
Durbin and others are sounding the alarm over political rhetoric that some fear could lead to violence. He said everyone, including the media, has a responsibility to lower the temperature in the country. The senior Senator from Illinois said he has been guilty of saying things he regrets, although he game no specifics.
"I wouldn't know where to start other than to tell you I’m being more careful," he said. "I'm trying to do it today, to be respectful of our opponents. Even though I disagree with them. I will do it in a manner that is acceptable to most people.”
Durbin appeared at a news conference, along with Rep. Nikki Budzinski (IL-13), at the Sangamon County Mass Transit District storage garage in Springfield.
Budzinski also condemned political violence. She said she felt President Biden relayed the proper tone in a speech to the nation Sunday night.
