Zeldin lays out Dems’ years-long escalating rhetoric ahead of Trump assassination attempt

Former New York Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin said he's "tired" of seeing Republicans verbally and physically attacked, arguing that anti-Trump and anti-GOP rhetoric has reached new highs across the years.

"The rhetoric has gotten so bad between, yes, the bullseye comment, remember Dan Goldman making a comment about how President Trump needs to be eliminated. Bennie Thompson wants to take away Secret Service protection. One of [Thompson's] aides was just complaining that the shooter Saturday evening had missed President Trump. I'm tired of seeing Republicans attacked like this," Zeldin told Fox News Digital during the Republican National Convention on Tuesday.

Zeldin was responding to President Biden backtracking on his comment earlier this month that "it’s time to put Trump in a bullseye," saying the remark was a "mistake" after a 20-year-old man in Pennsylvania attempted to assassinate Trump during a rally on Saturday evening. Zeldin reflected that verbal and physical attacks against Republicans have been ongoing and heightening for years before a shooter tried to kill the 45th president.

"I saw it with Steve Scalise with the shooting a few years ago, the attack on Rand Paul, the targeting of Justice Kavanaugh, this very close, near-assassination of President Trump. Yes, we should settle our scores at the ballot box. I agree with that. It's a truth. It's something that everyone should preach and everyone should believe in," he continued.

"Ultimately, we have to confront, head on, the fact that there is a very extensive effort basically throwing everything that they can against President Trump outside of the ballot box to try to prevent him from taking office … It's gone too far. It's sick and it needs to end," he continued.