Fetterman says Trump assassination attempt is ‘dark day for our nation’

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) says the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump is a “dark day.”

“It’s shocking, and it’s a dark, dark day for our nation,” Fetterman told CNN’s Jack Tapper on Sunday on “State of the Union.”

The assassination attempt against the former president took place in the Senator’s home state at a campaign rally in Butler, Pa. Shots were fired toward Trump from a nearby rooftop, and he said a bullet pierced him in the ear. 

At the time of the event, Fetterman was in Pennsylvania attending the vigil of a transgender teen who had been killed, saying that it was a “very sad night” for him personally.

He cautioned against politicizing the violence that took place at the rally.

“I just would like to remind that, for me, this isn‘t about an opportunity for politics or strategy, or how this might play out are the visuals or anything like that. This was an incredibly dark day for Pennsylvania, but for our nation, as well,” he said.

Several legislators, including Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) and Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), have made statements connecting the shooting to the president’s political opposition.

“We just have to kind of turn down the temperature on this,” Fetterman said. “This election is going to be the biggest election in our lifetime, and we have months ahead of us. So much more can happen.”

The FBI has identified the shooter as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pa. 

The Secret Service said the shooter and one spectator at the rally were killed, and two other attendees were critically injured.