Early Saturday morning, June 15, a lone gunman shot and killed Minnesota State representative Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark in their home.
The same night Democratic
Minnesota state senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette were shot in their
home but are expected to survive following surgery.
The suspected gunman, Vance
Boelter, was arrested late Sunday night, ending the largest manhunt in
Minnesota history.
Minnesota Governor Tim
Walz called the shootings an “act of
targeted political violence.”
Typically, the initial reaction
from Republicans was to deflect blame. Senator Mike Lee posted on X referring
to the situation as “Nightmare on Waltz
Street” hinting that somehow Governor Tim Walz was responsible. He also
posted “This is what happens when
Marxists don’t get their way.”
It soon came out that the
suspect, Vance Boelter, is a strong Trump supporter and a Pro-Life evangelical
Christian. A list of possible targets, found in his car, included many other
Democratic politicians and Planned Parenthood offices. Doesn’t sound like a
Marxist to me!
Condemnation of Mike Lee’s
posts came from all directions. Michael Steel, former chair of the Republican National
Committee told him to “Grow the hell up”.
Senator Richard J. Durbin, D of Illinois called Lee’s posts “beyond dangerous” and that politicizing
the shootings was “absolutely
unacceptable”. Senator Amy Klobuchar, D of Minnesota, who was close friends
with Melissa Hortman, planned to confront Lee in person and tell him “This isn’t funny”.
Later that day, after
many outraged responses, Mr. Lee posted to his official Senate account the following:
“These hateful attacks have no place in Utah,
Minnesota, or anywhere in America. Please join me in condemning this senseless
violence, and praying for the victims and their families.”
But Chris Lee wasn’t the
only Republican to take political potshots.
Representative Derrick
Van Orden, R Wisconsin, posted the usual condemnations of political violence on
his official account while claiming on his personal social media account that Ms.
Hortman was targeted because she was not “far
Left enough.” He also pointed out that Governor Tim Walz had appointed the
suspect to a state economic board.
What about President
Trump?
His official statement
was brief: “Such horrific violence will
not be tolerated in the United States of America. God Bless the great people of
Minnesota, a truly great place.”
When after 24 hours
Trump had still not called Governor Walz, ABC’s Rachel Scott asked him if he
would call him about the assassination. Trump’s reply was first, that the
attack “was a terrible thing” but
couldn’t resist adding that “I think [Tim
Walz] is a terrible governor. I think he’s
a grossly incompetent person. But I may, I may call him, I may call other
people too.”
Unfortunately that is a
typical response from Donald Trump.
Remember when Nancy
Pelosi’s husband was assaulted with a hammer and nearly killed in 2022? Donald Trump
and other Republicans made a joke of it, suggesting first that it was a false
flag and then that it was the result of a gay lovers’ quarrel. There was no
apology when those ideas were proved completely false.
Following the July 2024
assassination attempt on Donald Trump there was unconditional condemnation from
President Biden and Democratic lawmakers. There were no jokes, at least not publicly
by Democratic politicians, about, for example, the need for marksmanship
training in American high schools.
Several people have speculated
that Trump’s pardon of the January 6 rioters has sent a clear message that
violence committed for Trump is acceptable and that he will have your back if
you get caught.
Senator Chris Murphy pointed out that while people of all political
persuasions commit violence, no Democratic leader encourages violence as a
political norm the way Trump and MAGA have done, citing “a straight line from Jan 6 to the pardons to the assault on Sen.
Padilla to Minnesota.”
In contrast to the messages
from some Republicans, every House Representative and Senator from Minnesota,
Democratic and Republican, issued a joint statement.
“Today we speak with one voice to express our
outrage, grief, and condemnation of this horrible attack on public servants.
There is no place in our democracy for politically-motivated violence. We are
praying for John and Yvette’s recovery and we grieve the loss of Melissa and
Mark with their family, colleagues, and Minnesotans across the state. We are
grateful for law enforcement’s swift response to the situation and continued
efforts.”
This is the appropriate
response.
Sources:
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/june-15-2025
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/16/us/politics/mike-lee-minnesota-assassination-democrats.html
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