Pennsylvania lawmakers react one year after the Trump assassination attempt

Pennsylvania lawmakers took to social media and Fox News this weekend to recall the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump one year ago in Butler County and praise Trump’s defiant reaction.

U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick said on X/Twitter that he could have been on stage with Trump, too, but the then-candidate called him up only to change his mind to talk about immigration and told McCormick to sit back down.

“Returning to my seat, I watched as President Trump turned his attention and head towards the chart — a decision that likely saved his life,” said McCormick, who was running for the Senate at the time. “Moments later, a bullet meant for his head struck his ear. He went down, then stood up and raised his fist in defiance.”

McCormick said, “That moment captured who he is at his core — a strong leader — and marked a turning point in the 2024 election.”

Would-be assassin Thomas Crooks, a 20-year-old Bethel Park, Allegheny County resident, was shot and killed by a Secret Service sniper. No motive has been identified by authorities.

During an appearance on Fox Business on Friday, McCormick said he saw Trump “hit in the ear” and then heard and saw people trying to help Corey Comperatore, the volunteer firefighter killed in the shooting while trying to protect his family.

McCormick said that the investigation into the shooting has been “very unsatisfying” and lamented the “gross incompetence” that allowed it to happen.

“We all deserve better answers and I’m going to keep pushing for them,” said McCormick.

CBS News reported last week that the Secret Service suspended six agents without pay following the shooting with the punishments ranging from 10 to 42 days.

McCormick said in a Sunday X post that, “Strong leadership sets a tone — like a ripple effect. President Trump didn’t panic and stood strong and so did the crowd. Instead of chaos, chants of ‘USA’ rang out.”

Democratic Sen. John Fetterman said on X that the shooting “was a stark reminder of the awfulness of political violence that plagued our country — and still does.”

Fetterman said he was “incredibly thankful” that Trump was not killed and said he “cannot imagine the collective national trauma” stemming from the event.

“We must condemn political violence in any form and turn down the temperature,” said Fetterman, who has condemned Democrats for demonizing Trump. “We are all Americans.”

U.S. Rep. Scott Perry, a York County Republican representing the 10th Congressional District, said on X that is it “hard to believe that an entire year has passed since President Trump’s life was miraculously spared — by a fraction of an inch — in Butler, PA. God really does bless America.”

Rep. Dan Meuser, a Luzerne County Republican whose 9th Congressional District includes Lebanon County, was at the Trump rally with McCormick and GOP Rep. Mike Kelly, who represents northwest Pennsylvania, when shots rang out.

“We looked at each other … and then I looked behind me and then I looked at the president and that was just when he was hit,” Meuser said during a Sunday appearance on Fox News.

Pandemonium took hold until Trump stood up and raised his fist, prompting a chant of “USA! USA!” from the crowd, Meuser said.

As for the Secret Service, Meuser said the shooting was “an unbelievable failure” and Comperatore’s death was preventable.

“All this didn’t have to happen,” he said. “The incompetence is breathtaking.”

In an X post, Meuser praised Secret Service agents and police for their “service and responsiveness,” but blamed “leadership and management lapses” for the shooting.

Kelly, who is from Butler, called for prayers for the Comperatore family and the two men injured in the shooting as well as Trump.

“Like many in the Butler community, I still have questions about everything that led up to, and unfolded on, July 13,” Kelly said in a statement. “May we continue to pursue the truth to get the American people the answers they deserve.”