President Donald Trump called for unity in a brief statement about the shooting of Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) and at least four others Wednesday morning.
Trump speaks on Scalise shooting, calling for unity and working together for the common good
“Everyone who serves in our nation’s capital is here because, above all, we love our country.”
NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty
Andrew Prokop is a senior politics correspondent at Vox, covering the White House, elections, and political scandals and investigations. He’s worked at Vox since the site’s launch in 2014, and before that, he worked as a research assistant at the New Yorker’s Washington, DC, bureau.
“We may have our differences,” the president said. “But we do well in times like these to remember that everyone who serves in our nation’s capital is here because, above all, we love our country.”
“We can all agree that we are blessed to be Americans, that our children deserve to grow up in a nation of safety and peace, and that we are strongest when we are unified, and when we work together for the common good,” the president continued.
Trump expressed best wishes to Scalise’s family and praised Capitol Police, who defended the members of Congress from the attacker and took down the shooter.
“Everyone on that field is a public servant,” Trump said. “Our courageous police, our congressional aides, who work so tirelessly behind the scenes with enormous devotion, and our dedicated members of Congress who represent our people.”
Trump also apparently confirmed that the shooter — identified by multiple media outlets as James Hodgkinson — has died.
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