After the assassination attempt on Donald Trump, leaders of both parties called for turning down the political heat. 

But that has given rise to a war of words, as some Republicans argue the rhetoric of Democrats is dangerous - even though some prominent Republicans have used similar language to describe Joe Biden. Democrats say blaming them for inflamed rhetoric is cynical at best, given who leads the GOP presidential ticket.

Just hours after the shooting at Trump’s rally, some Republicans pointed the finger of blame at the language Democrats have used in attacking Trump, singling out Democrats who have warned that Trump poses a threat to democracy. 

“You can’t say those sorts of things and not expect people to be incited by that,” Rep. Marc Molinaro told Spectrum News. 

Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman argues there is nothing wrong with underlining the stakes of this election, saying that is emphatically not the same as inciting violence.

He accuses Republicans of projection. 

“This is a cynical opportunism and a political ploy by some Republicans to try to change the narrative from Donald Trump and the Republican Party's escalation of rhetoric in this country to say that it is happening on both sides when, in fact, it is not,” he said. 

Trump’s rhetorical record

In the past decade, Trump has labeled defendants from the violent 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol “hostages.”

He mocked Nancy Pelosi’s husband after he was seriously injured by a home intruder, saying, “She’s against building a wall at our border, even though she has a wall around her house, which obviously didn’t do a very good job.”

In 2016, he said this of potential judicial nominees by a hypothetical president Hillary Clinton: “If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do folks. Although the 2nd Amendment people, maybe there is - I don’t know.”

Asked to explain how Trump has, as Republicans are now demanding, lowered the temperature during his political career, two New York Republicans in competitive seats diverted to saying it is up to everyone to cool things down.

“Everyone has a role to play in dialing it down,” Molinaro said. “Everyone has played a role at times in accelerating some of the rhetoric.”

Rep. Mike Lawler said this is no time for a “tit-for-tat” conversation, saying, “We got to stop this: ‘Well, they said, she said, he said.’ Just everybody, understand: Enough. Enough. Cut the crap.”

“Threat to democracy”

Spectrum News identified multiple instances of New York Republicans like Rep. Elise Stefanik and former Rep. Lee Zeldin bashing Biden with the same words that Republicans complain Democrats have been using against Trump. 

On May 31, for example, Stefanik called Biden “a clear and present threat to democracy” in a social media post. 

In a post on April 9, Zeldin said, “There is no greater threat to democracy than Joe Biden and his allies trying to deny Americans the right to choose for themselves who to elect as their next President.”

Other examples can be found here, here and here.

When pressed on the use of this language, Zeldin suggested what Democrats are doing is different. 

“We shouldn't be trying to imprison President Trump for the rest of his life to bankrupt him and his family,” he said, invoking Trump’s various legal troubles.

Stefanik said she does not regret using that language, telling Spectrum News Thursday, “Democrats have been a threat to democracy. We’re actually seeing that play out right now.” She invoked the push by some Democrats to oust Biden from the top of the ticket, saying, “Now you want to see a unilateral like last-minute switch out? That’s not part of the democratic process.”

Stefanik also criticized Biden for recently saying he wanted to put Trump in a “bullseye” during a call with voters. “That rhetoric needs to stop,” she said.

On Monday, Biden told NBC News that word choice was a “mistake” and that he was trying to convey that they need to focus on Trump and his record.