Sen. Rick Scott (Fla.), who chairs Senate Republicans’ campaign arm, condemned on Sunday a violent attack on Paul Pelosi, the husband of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)
“It’s disgusting,” Scott told co-anchor Dana Bash on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
He also addressed the attack on ABC’s “This Week,” calling it “despicable” to co-anchor Martha Raddatz.
“Well, we’ve got to figure out how to bring our country back together where we have a civil conversation and we have no violence. I mean, this — what happened to Paul Pelosi is despicable. It’s unacceptable,” Scott said.
Early Friday morning, a man allegedly broke into the Speaker’s San Francisco home and assaulted Paul Pelosi, 82, with a hammer.
The Speaker was in Washington, D.C. at the time, but a source briefed on the attack said the man shouted, “Where is Nancy? Where is Nancy?” before assaulting her husband.
Paul Pelosi underwent surgery for a skull fracture and other injuries, and the Speaker on Saturday thanked the public for their prayers.
“We can have a heated conversation about the issues, but this violence has got to stop,” Scott said on CNN. “This is horrible, and my heart goes out to Paul Pelosi, and I hope he has a full recovery.”
Friday’s alleged assault is the latest in a long series of attacks targeting members of Congress and high-profile government figures.
Scott said that under his leadership at the National Republican Senatorial Committee, he asked the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) if candidates could use campaign funds to pay for security amid the increased threat level.
The FEC ruled last March that candidates could legally use their funds for bodyguards to protect against threats.
When asked about President Biden’s comment on Saturday suggesting one can’t condemn the violence without condemning those who believe unfounded claims of mass electoral fraud in the 2020 presidential election, Scott said officials must give the public confidence that the upcoming election will be “counted fairly.”
“We have to condemn the violence, and then we have to do everything we can to make sure people feel comfortable about these elections,” Scott told Bash. “We’ve got to do everything we can to get people comfortable that this election in nine days is going to be free and fair.”