Deep Dive
White House blames Democrats for shooting, ignores JD Vance's own Trump-Hitler comparison
Caroline Levitt, the White House press secretary, attributed the attempted shooting at Saturday's White House Correspondents Dinner to years of Democratic rhetoric calling Trump a fascist and comparing him to Hitler. She framed this as a 'left-wing cult of hatred' inspiring 'mentally perturbed individuals' to act. But Heilman caught a glaring contradiction: JD Vance, now vice president, sent a message to his college roommate Josh McBride in 2016 expressing concern that Trump might be 'America's Hitler.' The hypocrisy undercuts the entire framing — the administration is attacking Democrats for rhetoric Vance himself deployed.
Trump admin seizes on violence to push presidential ballroom, an 'absolutely ludicrous' pivot
Rather than addressing policy solutions like gun control or security reform, the White House seized on the incident to advance Trump's goal of building a ballroom at the White House. Heilman dismantled this logic: the White House Correspondents Dinner exists to celebrate the press and the sanctity of the First Amendment — holding it at the White House itself, on the president's home field, contradicts the event's entire purpose. 'The argument that the ballroom is the solution to this is ludicrous on its face,' he said. It represents a total misunderstanding of what the dinner means and an attempt to exploit a security threat for a vanity project.
Trump's own inflammatory statements show hypocrisy in blame game
Heilman systematically catalogued Trump's violent rhetoric. Trump called undocumented immigrants and political opponents 'vermin,' told the Proud Boys to 'stand back and stand by' before January 6th, and in September 2023 — after Paul Pelosi was beaten with a hammer — mocked Nancy Pelosi and questioned 'how's her husband doing,' suggesting the attack was deserved. Trump also addressed January 6th rioters by saying 'you'll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength and be strong.' These direct incitements make the blame placed on generic Democratic rhetoric ring hollow.
Both sides have extremists, but only one celebrates them
Heilman acknowledged the performative nature of 'both sides' arguments after political violence, but drew a stark distinction. While extremists exist in both parties, the Democratic Party has generally tried to ostracize those who cross lines. The Republican Party, by contrast, elevates violent extremists to the White House and Naval Observatory. After Nancy Pelosi's husband was attacked, Glenn Youngkin cracked jokes and Trump mocked the assault on Truth Social. Conversely, after the WHCD shooting, Heilman noted no one on the left celebrated the violence. 'There is only one side where the majority of the movement actively celebrates those people,' he concluded.