House Speaker Mike Johnson called on President Joe Biden and other Democrats to “speak up” after Donald Trump‘s transition team said some of his Cabinet nominees had been targeted by “violent” threats.
Trump-Vance transition spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in a statement shared Wednesday morning to X (formerly Twitter) that “several” of the president-elect’s nominees had been “targeted in violent, unAmerican threats to their lives and those who live with them” on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.
“These attacks ranged from bomb threats to ‘swatting,'” said Leavitt, referring to the practice of sending police rushing to a target’s home by falsely reporting a crime or emergency. “Law enforcement and other authorities acted quickly to ensure the safety of those who were targeted.”
Johnson shared Leavitt’s statement to his X account later on Wednesday while tying the incidents to assassination attempts on Trump earlier this year. He accused the current president of failing to fulfill an “obligation” to “condemn” threats against potential members of the incoming administration.
“This year, there was not just one but TWO assassination attempts on President Trump,” Johnson wrote.
“Now some of his Cabinet nominees and their families are facing bomb threats. This is dangerous and unhinged. It is not who we are in America. Joe Biden and all Democrat leaders have an obligation to speak up and condemn this now.”
