A recent letter to the editor published in The Cincinnati Enquirer has sparked outrage after the author, Felicia Duncan, appeared to blame former President Donald Trump for the recent assassination attempt against him. The letter, which was published less than 24 hours after the incident, claimed that Trump “brings a lot of this stuff on himself” due to his stance on issues such as immigration and the 2020 election.
Duncan, a resident of Sharonville, Ohio, and a donor to Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown’s re-election campaign, wrote that Trump’s rhetoric “brings the crazies out, and one of those crazies tries to shoot him.” However, this is not the first attempt on Trump’s life, and Duncan’s letter failed to acknowledge the broader implications of political violence.
Instead of condemning the attack, Duncan shifted the focus to Trump, suggesting that he is responsible for the actions of his would-be assassins. She even went so far as to offer advice on how Trump could “reduce the chance” of future attempts on his life, implying that he is somehow to blame for the violence directed towards him.
The letter has been widely criticized, with many taking to social media to express their outrage. The Enquirer’s decision to publish the letter has also been questioned, particularly given Duncan’s ties to the Democratic Party and her donations to Senator Brown’s campaign. Brown is currently running in a tight Senate race against Republican challenger Bernie Moreno.
Moreno’s campaign highlighted Duncan’s donations to Brown’s campaign, which total $325, and accused Brown of failing to condemn the violence. “Ohio voters need to know if Brown hates Trump as much as his donors do,” said Philip Letsou, a spokesperson for the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
Senator Brown did issue a statement on Sunday condemning political violence, but many have pointed out that his campaign has been silent on the issue since then.
The Enquirer’s publication of Duncan’s letter has been met with widespread criticism, with over 3,000 replies and 500 quoted replies taking issue with the outlet’s decision to publish the letter.
The Trump-Vance campaign also referenced such a letter from Duncan when sending out a list of how “the deplorable commentary from Democrats and the Fake News in the aftermath of the latest assassination attempt has been even worse.”
