What should have been an ordinary presidential campaign rally in Butler County, Pennsylvania turned into a horrifying scene on July 13. A man shot at Donald Trump from a nearby rooftop, killing one person and wounding several others, including the former president.

Iowa political leaders reacted quickly to the assassination attempt, and their comments reflected several distinct themes.

PRAYING FOR DONALD TRUMP

Several elected officials kept it simple by expressing prayers for Trump and others in harm’s way. From U.S. Representative Randy Feenstra (IA-04), minutes after news of the shooting broke:

From Senator Chuck Grassley’s political Facebook page:

Several Iowa Republicans used the instantly iconic photograph taken by Evan Vucci of the Associated Press. From Representative Zach Nunn (IA-03):

And from Attorney General Brenna Bird, who has been Trump’s highest-profile campaign surrogate in Iowa:

U.S. Representative Ashley Hinson (IA-02) had a word for the others affected as well as for Trump.

President Trump showed immense strength and courage yesterday & I am so glad he is doing okay.

I am continuing to pray for him and his family, as well as the families of the other victims. Everyone should condemn this horrific assassination attempt & violence.

Not everyone was so sensitive about the other shooting victims. Around the country, many prominent Republicans made comments similar to this post by Bob Vander Plaats of The FAMiLY Leader:

God, alone, saved @realDonaldTrump

Prayers for victims and families.

True Character.

Fear not.

Do not let evil win.

Love our country.

Stand United.

How do you think that sounds to the family of the man who died? God intervened for Trump but didn’t want to save your loved one? The Rev. Benjamin Cremer put it well: “If you see that God is in the business of protecting your preferred presidential candidate from death, but not the other person at the rally, or school children, or immigrants, or Palestinians, then it may be that you’re confusing your own political bias for God.”

CONDEMNING POLITICAL VIOLENCE

President Joe Biden commented shortly after the shooting, “There’s no place for this kind of violence in America. We must unite as one nation to condemn it.” He repeated that point when speaking on live television on the evening of July 14 and twice the following day.

Several Iowa leaders echoed that call to reject political violence. Republican Party of Iowa state chair Jeff Kaufmann spoke to Radio Iowa’s O. Kay Henderson.

“I think the Republicans march on to Milwaukee…the Democrats go to Chicago the next month, but we must continue to practice our democracy,” Kaufmann told Radio Iowa. “…These political leaders of ours — they’re fathers, they’re mothers, they’re grandfathers and grandmothers. They’re people, ultimately, that are trying to do right. I may not agree with them all or I may agree with them all, but…political violence must not real its ugly head into rallies, events, dinners, speeches, you name it.”

Kaufmann added that independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. “needs to have Secret Service protection before the stroke of midnight.”

The Iowa GOP chair was speaking to Henry County Republicans in Mount Pleasant when the shooting occurred. He is scheduled to introduce Trump at the Republican National Convention on July 15.

Grassley posted on Sunday morning, “Political violence has no place in this world Barbara & I are praying for the innocent ppl who were killed or injured in yesterday’s attack.”

Denouncing political violence was a universal theme of the Democrats who commented on the assassination attempt. Iowa House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst posted on X/Twitter,

I’m glad to hear former President Trump is safe following a chaotic and terrifying incident at his rally in Pennsylvania today.

It can’t be said enough: political violence has no place in our society.

State Auditor Rob Sand said in a statement,

Please join our family and all Iowans in praying for former president Donald Trump and anyone else impacted by this senseless act of violence. Political violence of any kind is unacceptable, and has no place in a democracy.

Likewise, Iowa Democratic Party state chair Rita Hart commented, “The news about Former President Donald Trump is extremely troubling. Gun violence is never acceptable and violence of any sort should never be perpetuated against people who are trying to participate in our democratic process.”

PRAISING LAW ENFORCEMENT

Several politicians highlighted the role law enforcement played at the scene of the assassination attempt. Sand’s written statement went on to say, “Thankful for the quick action by secret service and law enforcement, who put their lives on the line each and every day in service of our country.”

The comment from Hart continued, “My thoughts are with the people who attended today’s rally and were forced to witness today’s events. I am thankful for the Secret Service and all of the brave men and women who fight to keep our nation safe every day.”

Several hours after the shooting, Bird’s office released the following statement:

Today’s heinous assassination attempt was not just an attack on President Trump, it was an attack on our country, and our democracy.

And while it failed at killing President Trump, it murdered one of our fellow Americans. This attack was nothing short of evil. Bob and I mourn with the family who lost their loved one.

I thank law enforcement and first responders for their swift response. Please join me in praying for President Trump’s recovery, the families of the Americans who were tragically shot, and our country.

While I understand the reasons for giving credit to first responders, those statements struck me as odd in light of the obvious security failures that allowed this tragedy to happen.

Why didn’t the Secret Service place someone on that roof? (NBC News reported on July 14 that the building had been identified the day before as a “high priority vulnerability.”) Why didn’t agents have eyes on that roof during the rally? Why wasn’t Trump pulled off the stage quickly after bystanders reportedly alerted local law enforcement that they saw a man with a rifle crawling up the roof?

Senator Grassley alluded to those problems in an X/Twitter post on Sunday morning.

From her official account, Hinson announced, “The House will begin conducting immediate investigations into security failures, including a hearing next Monday with the Secret Service Director.” She added, “There must be full accountability & answers for the American people.”

I look forward to learning more, because these details from an Associated Press account are hard to comprehend: “A local law enforcement officer climbed to the roof and found [Thomas Matthew] Crooks, who pointed the rifle at the officer. The officer retreated down the ladder, and the gunman quickly fired toward Trump, the officials said. That’s when U.S. Secret Service gunmen shot him, the officials said.”

I hope the House hearing doesn’t devolve into bashing diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. Female Secret Service agents became the immediate scapegoat for some conservative critics on July 14.

A PIVOT TO POLITICS

Some Iowa Republicans couldn’t resist the temptation to pivot from reacting to the tragedy to endorsing Trump’s agenda. I was struck by this statement from Governor Kim Reynolds’ office (not her campaign apparatus):

This assassination attempt on a former president, current nominee for president, and leader of the Republican Party marks a dark day in American history. Kevin and I are grateful that President Trump is safe and is doing well. We will continue to pray for him and his family, as well as those who were shot and the family of the individual who was killed.  

As President Trump showed when he walked off the stage, we will not cower to such terror. I will be in Milwaukee this week and will proudly stand with him and our party. America will get through this, together, and President Trump will lead us into the next four years.

Hinson posted Sunday morning, “Nothing will keep President Trump from fighting for our country & I look forward to seeing him in Milwaukee this week.”

Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks (who has been trying to shore up her right flank lately) posted on her political account about an hour after the shooting, “We will NOT back down, we will NOT back up, and we will NOT back out. We will persevere!”

This strikes me as a bit over the top. No one was asking Republicans to “back down” from the election campaign.

But when it came to trying to seize some political advantage from the events in Pennsylvania, U.S. Senator Joni Ernst went further than her Iowa colleagues.

BASHING BIDEN

The junior senator kept it within bounds on her official account:

But on her political account, Ernst was complaining less than an hour and a half after the shooting that President Biden was “silent.”

It’s grotesque for Ernst to imply that Biden didn’t care about what happened in Butler County. Perhaps it took the president’s team a little longer to finalize comments late on Saturday, as opposed to responding to breaking news in the middle of a weekday. Even so, the White House put out a statement on the shooting minutes after that tweet from Ernst. About a half-hour later, Biden spoke to the country on live television. Iowa’s senator didn’t acknowledge his gracious remarks then or the following day.

In fact, the official White House statement from Biden reached my inbox hours before I received written comments from Iowa’s governor or attorney general. Obviously, no one would suggest Reynolds or Bird didn’t care that Trump was wounded in an assassination attempt.

At a moment of crisis, political leaders should set an example for their followers, not further inflame the situation.