Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Tenn., told Newsmax before the Republican National Convention that the recent attempt on former President Donald Trump's life gave him "flashbacks" to the 2017 shooting at a practice session before a congressional baseball game.
Trump on Saturday survived an attempted assassination, according to the FBI, after a 20-year-old Pennsylvania man shot at the former president several times during a rally, injuring Trump and killing a bystander.
"Obviously, Saturday was a very sad day," Fleischmann said from Milwaukee while appearing on "Newsline." "When we learned about the shooting at the beginning, no one knew how President Trump was, what was going on. There was chaos. There was sadness. There was sheer dread."
Fleischmann added that he had "flashbacks" to the incident in June 2017 when a 66-year-old man armed with a gun shot six people at a congressional baseball practice session, injuring House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., among others. Fleischmann was present at the 2017 shooting.
"Thank God, President Trump is well, he is here," Fleischmann said. "The mood here today is vibrant, but we have got to address political violence in this country.
"It's unacceptable. It's always wrong. I'm old enough to remember when Ronald Reagan went through that assassination attempt. I was in college then. So let's get our country to a better place."
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Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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