Democrats and Republicans clashed in heated rhetoric after the WHCD shooting

As Democrats and Republicans clash over political rhetoric that escalated after the shooting of White House reporters on Saturday night, Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., is urging leaders on both sides to “turn down the heat.”

The call for calm comes after Cole Allen, 31, of Torrance, Calif., stormed into the lobby of the Washington Hilton hotel during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner and opened fire.

“It’s an opportunity, in my opinion, for everybody to turn down the heat,” Moskowitz told Fox News Digital. “If we point the finger, the temperature will never drop…We are like high school students.”

Allen, who was armed with a rifle, shotgun and knives, was caught by the Secret Service as hundreds of journalists and Cabinet officials were being escorted out of the hotel.

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“The rhetoric on both sides, for a while now, has been raised, and listen, the president has played a part in that,” Moskowitz said. “He was responsible for the speech, and he should own that. His tweets are there. There’s truth to that.”

Allen, who appeared in federal court on Monday, is charged with attempted murder of the president of the United States, transporting a firearm on federal highways and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.

Authorities say the suspect sent a written manifesto to his family members outlining his intention to target Trump and other Cabinet officials before the alleged shooting.

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Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., speaks during a subcommittee hearing on the attempted assassination of former President Donald J. Trump on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on September 26, 2024. (Ting Shen/Bloomberg)

“The manifesto doesn’t sound much different than everyone talking about on every liberal news channel,” said Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo.

This would mark the second assassination attempt targeting President Trump after two in 2024, when he was shot in the ear at a campaign rally in Butler, Pa., and later headed to his golf course in Florida.

“You have psycho-frickin’ supporters trying to kill President Trump and… violence is always on their side,” Boebert said. “It’s disgusting, and it has to stop, period.”

He said President Trump’s plan to add a ballroom to the White House is a necessary security measure.

“I want a ballroom built,” he said. “This is a national security issue right now, and it needs to be addressed.”

He added that these incidents are part of a larger pattern. In September, Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk was killed while speaking at Utah Valley University as part of his “American Comeback Tour.”

“Look what they did to Charlie Kirk, a man who wanted to sit down and talk,” said Boebert. “They hated him so much, their speech caused him to be killed. One of their free officers killed him. This only happens to free people,” said Boebert.

At a press conference on Monday, White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt told reporters that a “left-wing hate cult” was responsible for the violence.

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Late night host Jimmy Kimmel hosted the White House Correspondents’ Humorous Dinner on Thursday, April 23, 2026. (ABC/JimmyKimmelLive)

Leavitt slammed ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel for his recent comment that the first lady had “the glow of a pregnant widow.”

“Who in their right mind says that a wife will be in flames for the murder of her beloved husband?” he said. “And having seen what I did with the first lady on Saturday night, I can tell you she wasn’t all that.”

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Many Democrats also rejected left-wing broadcaster Hasan Piker amid scrutiny of his political rhetoric. Piker pushed back, calling those who denounced him “spreaders of the land of Israel.”

“I reject people on my side, or try to be on my side, like Hasan Piker, who is advocating for senators to be killed and saying things like, ‘we deserve 9/11.’ He is not a Democrat. He is not part of the Democratic Party,” said Moskowitz.

However, he said the American people “do not believe” either side is innocent.

“The American people don’t believe that and that’s why our poll numbers for both parties are in the pipeline,” Moskowitz said.

Fox News Digital tried to ask Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., about the shooting and the growing political violence, but he ignored the questions.

The cause of the shooting is still under investigation.