Harris responds to GOP leaders warning 'fascist' rhetoric invites assassination attempt on Trump

Vice President Kamala Harris, the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee, responded to GOP leaders on Friday who warned that her "fascist" rhetoric about former President Trump, her general election opponent, invites a third assassination attempt.

"Well, listen, we all must speak out against any form of political violence, and I'm very clear about that. No one should be the subject of violence," she said, according to a press pool report on a gaggle with Harris. 

"But the American people deserve to be presented with facts and the truth. And the fact and the truth is that some of the people closest to Donald Trump when he was president, generals, including most recently, John Kelly, a four-star marine general, have been very clear about the danger and the threat that Donald Trump poses to America and the fact that he is unfit to serve. And the American People deserve to hear that and know about that," she added.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., called on Harris to dial-back the fascism rhetoric about TRump.

"Labeling a political opponent as a ‘fascist’ risks inviting yet another would-be assassin to try robbing voters of their choice before Election Day," theGOP leaders said in the statement. "Vice President Harris may want the American people to entrust her with the sacred duty of executive authority. But first, she must abandon the base and irresponsible rhetoric that endangers both American lives and institutions."

Both Johnson and McConnell said they have both been "briefed on the ongoing and persistent threats to former President Donald Trump by adversaries to the United States, and we call on the Vice President to take these threats seriously, stop escalating the threat environment, and help ensure President Trump has the necessary resources to be protected from those threats."