Politics

After WHCD shooting, Republicans blame Dems for political rhetoric

Published

6 months ago

April 27, 2026

It’s becoming a pattern: A possible threat to President Donald Trump’s life. Calls from both sides to turn down the temperature. And then, a pivot.

Republicans on Sunday rushed to turn the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner into a campaign cudgel, accusing Democrats of opening the door to political violence with “dangerous and inflammatory rhetoric” against the president. And they’re leveraging the attempted security breach to try and break the congressional stalemate over Department of Homeland Security funding.

Less than 24 hours after calling on Americans to “resolve our differences,” Trump said in an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes” that “I do think that the hate speech of the Democrats … is very dangerous.” Republican National Committee Chair Joe Gruters cast Saturday’s incident as “the inevitable result of a radicalized left that has normalized political violence.”

Official GOP social media accounts accused prominent battleground candidates of stoking political tensions. “Democrats like Abdul El Sayed fuel this hate,” Republicans’ Senate campaign arm wrote of the progressive candidate in the Michigan Senate race. In Maine, the group posted that Graham Platner, the Democratic primary polling leader, “said that violence with a gun was a necessary means to achieving social change.” It’s a reference to since-deleted Reddit posts from 2018; Platner has disavowed the violent rhetoric in them. And in North Carolina, an RNC account criticized Senate candidate and former Gov. Roy Cooper for not publicly condemning the attack while previously calling Trump “a significant threat to our democracy.”

It’s a playbook Republicans forged in the aftermath of the two assassination attempts against Trump in 2024, when early calls for unity gave way to accusations that Democrats had spent years stoking threats of violence against the president by casting him as a threat to democracy. They’ve deployed it amid a surge in high-profile incidents of political violence, including last year’s killing of Charlie Kirk, when top Republicans from Trump down blamed the “radical left” for inciting political violence.

There’s no evidence Democrats’ rhetoric was behind either of the 2024 assassination attempts on Trump. The motive behind the shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024 remains a mystery; the gunman, Thomas Crooks, was killed by federal agents. Ryan Routh, who was convicted of trying to assassinate a major presidential candidate after he hid in the bushes at one of Trump’s Florida golf courses with a semiautomatic rifle that September, was reportedly concerned about the war in Ukraine.

Democrats on Sunday broadly condemned political violence. They offered gratitude to the Secret Service, including the agent who took shots to his protective vest during the scuffle and was released from the hospital Sunday. They rejected Republicans’ attempts to assign blame and reiterated their calls to pass a bill that cleared the Senate last month that would fund most of DHS, except for immigration enforcement.

“Here in America, we can have strong disagreements. But it’s important for us to agree to strongly disagree without being disagreeable with each other,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said on “Fox News Sunday.” “And it is certainly the case that violence is never the answer, whether it’s targeted at the right, the left, or the center.”

It was not immediately clear what motivated Saturday’s attack, though the man being held in connection with the incident reportedly criticized Trump administration policies in writings sent to family members shortly before he rushed a security checkpoint while armed with guns and knives. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday morning that it appeared the suspect “did in fact set out to target folks that work in the administration, likely including the president.”

Some battleground Republicans — including in top races for Senate, House and governor — moved quickly to fill the void.

In the heated Michigan Senate race, former GOP Rep. Mike Rogers said in a statement that Democrats “know exactly what they’re doing and continue to inspire violent acts. Why else would they continue to block funding for DHS, the very agency meant to keep us safe?”

He referenced a clip of El-Sayed, one of his Democratic rivals, urging Democrats at a “fighting oligarchy” rally last year to do more to push back against Republicans. “When they go low, we don’t go high — we take them to the ground and choke them out,” El-Sayed said at the time.

Senate Republicans’ campaign arm circulated the clip Sunday morning.

In a statement Sunday, El-Sayed criticized Republicans’ attacks, saying there is “never any excuse for political violence” and calling on everyone, “regardless of party, to bring the rhetoric down.”

“It’s sad to see the NRSC shamelessly politicize this awful act so quickly,” El-Sayed said. “Needless to say it strains credulity to believe that these acts had more to do with what a candidate in Michigan said in 2025 than what the MAGA movement has done to normalize violence through Jan 6, endless war, and violent rhetoric.”

Republicans have yet to put any significant cash behind a line of attack that was still taking shape on Sunday and playing out largely on social media and in public statements.

Still, Democrats called for them to back down.

“Instead of politicizing the shooting, Republicans should look in the mirror first. If they were actually serious about public safety, they should allow a vote on the bipartisan legislation the Senate passed to re-open DHS,” Viet Shelton, a spokesperson for House Democrats’ campaign arm, said in a statement.

Democratic operatives working on battleground campaigns argued that Republicans were being hypocritical, pointing to Trump and GOP lawmakers who’ve mocked acts of political violence against Democrats and worked to rewrite the history of the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol riot. They also cited Trump’s suggestion last year that the actions of a half-dozen Democratic lawmakers who encouraged servicemembers not to follow illegal orders were “punishable by death.”

“Last time this many top government leaders were in one place and facing [the] threat of violence was [Jan. 6, 2021],” Democratic strategist Jesse Ferguson said in a text message. “Hopefully they don’t give anyone pardons this time.”

Mark Longabaugh, another veteran Democratic strategist working on midterm races, said: “To any Republican making those accusations, my response is two words: January Sixth.”

But Republicans weren’t letting up.

Shawn Roderick, a spokesperson for GOP Sen. Susan Collins in battleground Maine, issued a statement slamming her Democratic rivals, Gov. Janet Mills and newcomer Graham Platner, for criticizing efforts to fund DHS.

“The Secret Service is funded through the Department of Homeland Security, the very department responsible for protecting our country and employing the officers who put their lives on the line every day,” Roderick said. “Yet some, like Graham Platner and Janet Mills, have criticized efforts to fund DHS, including Senator Collins’ vote to keep it operating, as part of a broader political agenda.”

That, he added, “has real consequences.”

Platner and Mills’ campaigns did not respond to a request for comment.

“Democrats have spent years pouring fuel on the fire, attacking law enforcement and stoking division, and now they want to pretend they’re the party of public safety,” said Mike Marinella, spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee. “We’re going to make sure voters see the full picture and hold every one of them accountable for the rhetoric they’ve embraced and the chaos it’s helped create.”

Erin Doherty and Jessica Piper contributed to this report.

Politics

NYC high school faces backlash over ‘intifada’ post

Published

1 hour ago

October 21, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Stuyvesant High School is facing backlash over a school-based socialist youth group's social media post.

INTIFADA FLARE UP: One of New York City’s most prestigious public high schools is facing backlash because a school-based socialist youth group co-signed a social media post declaring “Intifada Until Victory!”

The Young Democratic Socialists of America chapter of Stuyvesant High School — along with YDSA chapters at Hunter College, the New School, City College and Lehman College — all signed onto an Oct. 8 Instagram post that accused the Democratic Socialists of America’s New York City chapter of silencing student activists who wanted to protest Mayor Zohran Mamdani over Israel.

The groups accused the democratic socialist mayor of betraying the Palestinian cause and blasted his decision to keep NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch in her position, referring to her as a “Zionist billionaire.”

The term intifada — which refers to violent uprisings against Jews in Israel — is viewed by many Jews as a call to violence against them.

Moshe Spern, president of United Jewish Teachers — an advocacy group representing Jewish teachers and students across the city — is demanding the posts be removed immediately and that the YDSA group provide a public apology to the school community.

“NYC public schools have seen hundreds of antisemitic and anti-Israel incidents since October 7, 2023,” he wrote in an email yesterday to Stuyvesant Principal Seung Yu and New York City Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels. “When a school-recognized club amplifies this rhetoric, it risks contributing to a hostile environment.”

In the missive, Spern invoked Title VI — the federal law that bans discrimination based on race, shared ancestry and national origin — and demanded a review of the YDSA chapter’s charter, faculty adviser and recent activities for compliance.

Spern also cited a chancellor’s regulation that states that student clubs operate under the principal’s supervision and must remain consistent with the school’s educational goals.

Yu did not respond to requests for comment. Mamdani’s Department of Education also did not respond to Playbook.

Spern told Playbook today that he has yet to receive a response from Yu.

“To flat out ignore it is extremely irresponsible,” he said.

The NYC-DSA defended the organization.

“We support the right to organize,” NYC-DSA co-Chair Gustavo Gordillo said in a statement. “NYC-DSA did not organize or endorse this particular rally, but red scare tactics have never been effective tools for engaging with student movements.”

The social media uproar is the latest flashpoint in ongoing tensions in the city over Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and the war that followed.

Mamdani, a longtime critic of Israel, was reluctant to condemn the term “globalize the intifada” on the campaign trail last year before finally saying he will not use the term. He also drew bipartisan backlash over his statement marking the third anniversary of the attack. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu labeled the mayor an antisemite, which Mamdani has denied.

Mamdani, though, has also simultaneously faced backlash from pro-Palestinian activists who accused him of betraying the Palestinian cause by retaining Tisch, who’s Jewish and a self-described Zionist. Those critics have also criticized him for not doing enough to prevent local synagogues from holding events that promote land sales in Israel, some of them in the occupied West Bank. — Madina Touré

From the Capitol

A new Quinnipiac University poll has Hochul leading GOP challenger Bruce Blakeman by 14 points.

Q’S LATEST: Gov. Kathy Hochul has a 55-41 lead over Republican challenger Bruce Blakeman, a Quinnipiac University poll released this afternoon found.

That 14-point advantage is narrower than the 19-point lead Quinnipiac gave Hochul last month. But it’s more in line with the numbers from other pollsters: Marist found Hochul up by 11 two weeks ago, Emerson had Hochul up 12 in early October, and Siena measured her lead at 9 points last month.

Despite Hochul’s lead, the Q Poll concluded Blakeman has an enthusiasm advantage. A total of 65% of his backers were “very enthusiastic” to support him, while only 33% of Hochul’s supporters said the same. — Bill Mahoney

FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL

Democratic House candidate Brad Lander was detained by Israeli security officials while harvesting olives in the West Bank.

LANDER DETAINED: Democratic congressional candidate Brad Lander was detained today by Israeli security officials while harvesting olives in the West Bank.

Lander, a self-described liberal Zionist and critic of Israel, said he went to the West Bank as part of the “Protect the Harvest” coalition to support Palestinians gathering crops.

Rabbi Jill Jacobs, CEO of T’ruah, a progressive rabbinical organization, said she was also detained Wednesday, along with “approximately 80 American, Israeli, and international volunteers providing a protective presence for Palestinian farmers.” According to a press release from T’ruah, there were “approximately two hours of peaceful harvesting” until “Israeli forces declared the area a closed military zone” and detained them to transport them to a police station, despite the volunteers agreeing to leave.

An Israeli military official told Blue Light News that officers from the Israel Defense Forces and Border Police, along with local police, arrived at the scene because Palestinians did not submit a request to coordinate harvesting in that area, which is required ahead of time. The official added that the farm in question “requires only a small number of harvesters to collect its produce” and “the security establishment views the arrival of dozens of activists as an act intended solely to provoke, which undermines the harvesting process.”

Lander was released “once the matter was brought to our attention” that he is a congressional candidate, the official said.

Lander confirmed in a social media post that he was released with a “warning” because of his “public profile.”

IN OTHER NEWS

— MUSK: Elon Musk has spent more than $500,000 to support Rep. Mike Lawler’s reelection bid against Democratic challenger Cait Conley. (Gothamist)

— STOP: New York City deployed 600 red light cameras to intersections, the maximum number allowed under state law. (New York Daily News)

— MEASLES: In the wake of a measles crisis, the state Health Department remains locked in a court battle with Amish schools over religious vaccine exemptions. (The New York Times)

Missed this morning’s New York Playbook? We forgive you. Read it here.

Politics

The GOP has a midterm messaging problem. Ramaswamy isn’t helping

Published

12 hours ago

October 21, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

The GOP has a midterm messaging problem. Ramaswamy isn’t helping

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Politics

Why Republicans’ massive cash advantage is evaporating on the airwaves

Published

13 hours ago

October 21, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Republicans are banking on a massive cash edge to help save their majority in Congress. But they are losing much of that advantage in an important arena: broadcast TV ads.

Republicans have spent $677 million on those ads across 10 key Senate battleground states, compared to $479 million by the Democrats. But the GOP’s money isn’t going nearly as far because they’re more dependent on outside groups that pay much higher rates than candidates.

The disparity has helped Democrats stay in the fight for Senate control amid an onslaught of GOP outside spending.

In Ohio’s Senate race, Republican groups make up 63% of the $218 million spent. But in spite of their nearly two-to-one spending advantage, they make up just over half of ads that are on the airwaves, according to data from the tracking service AdImpact. In Texas, Republicans have outspent Democrats by a three-to-one margin, but have aired just 58% of the ads. And in Michigan, the GOP accounts for 60% of the spending but just over half of the ads.

A large part of this discrepancy comes down to the mechanics of broadcast advertising. Candidates, and now political parties thanks to a recent Supreme Court ruling, are entitled to significantly lower rates. That has allowed Democratic candidates — who have posted bonkers fundraising hauls — to offset much of the GOP advantage in super PACs. Republican Senate candidates, on the other hand, struggled overall with their fundraising. And some GOP outside groups bought their ad time later, when it was even more expensive.

“There are limitations to the impact of ‘big money’ in politics,” said Sean Cooksey, a Republican former FEC commissioner. “It’s a good demonstration of the economics of campaign fundraising. Hard dollars really just go so much further.”

The disparity also shows “the Republican overreliance on outside groups,” said Ian Russell, a Democratic admaker.

“You get an eye-popping dollar amount, but it doesn’t actually translate into as many spots as you would think relative to a well-financed candidate,” Russell said. “[Republicans] were just hoping that they could spend their way out of everything that was going wrong for them. But the problem is, their issues run much deeper than a few ad buys can fix. Especially when you’ve got monster fundraising hauls from the Democratic side.”

Republicans in House and Senate races have long been more dependent on outside groups and megadonors, and for multiple cycles have seen their cash advantage undercut by fundraising strength from individual Democratic candidates. But that trend is particularly pronounced this year given the combination of Republican super PAC money and their candidates’ struggles.

In 2024, Republican outside groups spent only about 15% more than Democrats on TV ads across House and Senate general election contests, according to a Blue Light News analysis of AdImpact data. This cycle, GOP outside groups have spent 7% more.

In a few states, the discrepancy between dollars and airtime is less stark. Republicans account for 60% of the spending in Maine’s Senate race and an equal percentage of the ads, according to AdImpact. That’s in part because Sen. Susan Collins has outraised her Democratic opponent Troy Jackson over the whole cycle, although Jackson, who didn’t launch his campaign until July, raised far more in the third quarter.

The numbers show the shifting dynamics of campaign strategy after the Supreme Court opened the floodgates to more spending from parties by granting them the lower advertising rate.

Republicans have been faster to take advantage of the new rules: Major coordinated spending efforts from the NRSC and RNC have helped their side significantly this cycle.

Republicans have far outspent Democrats on Senate party-coordinated Senate advertising, $90 million to $34.6 million across TV, radio and digital ads, according to data from AdImpact.

“If I were the leader of either party, I would say you shouldn’t give a dollar, you shouldn’t give a single penny to these super PACs until you’ve maxed out to the party committee,” Cooksey said.

Some Republicans say that strategic errors have contributed to erasing their cash edge. A number of GOP strategists have also privately griped that MAGA Inc. — one of the major outside groups backing their candidates — bought TV airtime too late, forcing them to pay even higher rates and further draining resources and increasing the price of reaching voters. Republicans fretted for months about whether Trump’s well-financed super PAC, MAGA Inc., would get involved. The group has since spent heavily, but only launched its first general election ad buys in September.

“There is no question MAGA Inc. should have bought ads earlier in the cycle,” said one national GOP operative who was granted anonymity to discuss party strategy, noting that rates across the country increase as Election Day nears. Other top GOP outside groups, like the Senate Leadership Fund and the Congressional Leadership Fund, made their early advertising reservations much earlier in the cycle than MAGA Inc.

Trump allies waved away that criticism. A person familiar with the Trump operation’s midterm planning, granted anonymity to discuss strategy, said it’s “indisputable that the spending from the Trump political effort has kept us competitive in many Senate races.”

MAGA Inc. declined to comment.

Still, GOP outside groups are utilizing their cash advantage in some underappreciated ways.

Republican super PACs have massively outspent their Democratic counterparts on mail — roughly $157 million to $35 million for the general election — according to a Blue Light News analysis of independent expenditure filings submitted to the Federal Election Commission. That’s led by a whopping $44 million in spending on mail across 24 races from the Trump-aligned No Going Back PAC, along with $23.8 million across 20 races from Elon Musk’s America PAC.

GOP-aligned super PACs have also spent more than Democratic ones on phone calls and text messages, the data shows.