‘Unify, My Ass’: Critics slam Eric Trump for comments about attempted assassination

Eric Trump was accused of reigniting the divisive rhetoric just days after an assassination attempt on his father led to widespread calls for Americans to cool the political climate.

“Ever since he went to that escalator, they’ve been trying to rip him off, they’ve been coming after us, they’ve been coming after me,” Eric Trump said of Donald Trump to Fox News’ Laura Ingraham on Monday night.

‘They did everything they could to rob him of his wealth and fame. They tried to break up our family. They did everything they could to get him and kill him, and they literally tried to kill him this week,” he added.

People on social media took issue with the use of “they,” ostensibly referring to Democrats who had impeached the former president twice. (He was acquitted by the Senate both times).

The gunman who shot at Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, was a registered Republican who had once donated $15 to a liberal group. Authorities are still working to determine his motivations and have not made this information public. One rally attendee was killed in the shooting and three others, including Trump, were injured.

The violence led to condemnation from both sides and calls to lower the temperature in politics. In a speech on Sunday, President Joe Biden urged Americans to “stand together” and “take a step back” to find a way forward.

Donald Trump has also called for unity, even though he appeared to be back to his usual antics Monday on social media, as did several Republicans who spoke on the first day of the party convention.

“’Them’??? It doesn’t sound like you’re turning the volume down. Unite my ass,” said one user said on X (formerly Twitter) of Eric Trump’s comment.

“Let’s unite the country behind Trump – except ‘them’ of course,” commented another.

The anti-Trump group MeidasTouch said it was “really dangerous rhetoric that could lead to more violence.”

At another point in his interview on Fox News, Eric Trump also called for calm while simultaneously rebuking MSNBC for merging the news network’s name with the Democratic National Committee’s acronym.

“Everyone has to stop. I was on the ground earlier being attacked by MSDNC, as we call them, and I say, couldn’t you wait 24 hours? Please, you know, let it cool down a little bit,” he said.

“Everyone, just relax. As you can see here, this room is full of love. I mean, the patriotism, the American flags, the cowboy hats. This is the best of America,” he added.

Check out some responses to his comments below.