Republican New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu sparred with CNN anchor Don Lemon on Tuesday over his attempt to blame Republicans for political violence following the attack on Paul Pelosi.
During the premiere episode of “CNN This Morning,” Lemon accused Republicans’ rhetoric of triggering political violence against political opponents, citing the attack on Pelosi in his San Francisco residence and the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Sununu argued that politically motivated attacks happen on both sides, pointing to the assassination attempts on Associate Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and House Republican Whip Steve Scalise.
“There is danger on both sides,” Sununu said.
“I don’t disagree with you, but let me tell you the difference here,” Lemon said. “When it is on the Democratic side, and it does happen, people say it is wrong, it should not happen, and they denounce it. Democratic leaders come out and they do it immediately. Republicans don’t do that, are they afraid of Don Jr., are they afraid of [former President] Donald Trump, are they afraid to come out and lose votes? I’m just being honest and that is the truth. Go back and look at the evidence, it’s not the same thing.”
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The governor said all political figures and the media need to “bring the temperature down” to prevent more political violence from erupting. (RELATED: How Did The Attack On Pelosi Go Down? Here’s What We Know So Far)
Several prominent Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, immediately denounced the attack on Pelosi and political violence as a whole.
“Horrified and disgusted by the reports that Paul Pelosi was assaulted in his and Speaker Pelosi’s home last night,” McConnell tweeted. “Grateful to hear that Paul is on track to make a full recovery and that law enforcement including our stellar Capitol Police are on the case.”
Horrified and disgusted by the reports that Paul Pelosi was assaulted in his and Speaker Pelosi’s home last night. Grateful to hear that Paul is on track to make a full recovery and that law enforcement including our stellar Capitol Police are on the case.
— Leader McConnell (@LeaderMcConnell) October 28, 2022
What happened to Paul Pelosi last night is horrific.
Heidi & I are praying for him & Nancy & the entire Pelosi family. May God’s protection be upon them.
We can have our political differences, but violence is always wrong & unacceptable.
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) October 28, 2022
This is reprehensible. We are a civilized society. Political disagreements cannot be sorted out with violence. https://t.co/TsicDVljgt
— Rep. Dan Crenshaw (@RepDanCrenshaw) October 28, 2022
In the early stages of the Pelosi investigation, liberals rushed to blame Republicans for the attack, immediately assuming that assailant David DePape is a Republican. Officials later learned that DePape broke into the residence to search for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.