Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., is demanding the resignation of an upstate New York town official following remarks in which she compared former President Donald Trump to a "rabid dog" in an online post following his assassination attempt.
Potsdam Town Board Member Christine Paige made the now deleted remarks following the shooting at a Trump campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13.
"I have seen no credible proof that he's a human being. Maybe you know something we don't. To me, it would be akin to putting down a rabid dog," Paige wrote in the post.
Paige immediately received widespread condemnation from members of both parties in the small town of Potsdam with numerous calls to step aside. This week she received one from the congresswoman representing the North Country of New York state.
"Far Left Democrats supporting political violence, and the assassination of President Trump are shameful and do not deserve to represent the great people of the North Country," Stefanik told The National Desk on Wednesday.
"Potsdam Town Board Member Christine Paige must be condemned by the N.Y. Democrat state party, and she must resign in disgrace after she said shooting President Trump would be like 'putting down a rabid dog,'" the GOP Conference chair added.
Potsdam Town Supervisor Marty Miller, a Democrat, released a statement saying that Paige's comments are "not in any way shared" by the rest of the board and her Facebook post "satisfied" her own needs, but the consequences to the community have been "severe."
Miller said "the town hall has had to put up with phone calls, voicemails, and emails, taking us all away from our daily duties" but that the town does not have the authority to remove an elected official.
Earlier in the month, Paige told local outlet North Country Now that she "has no plans to resign. My right to free speech is guaranteed by the First Amendment, whether you agree with it or not. As is everyone else's."
"I've lived in the North Country my entire life and I've dealt with this type of individual many times," she said of her critics.
"I don't pay attention to their foolishness. This will blow over."
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.