Turner appeared on CNN’s State of the Union one day after Trump had been shot in the ear and said, “Thank God Donald Trump is alive.”
“Along with Donald Trump, our democracy dodged a bullet yesterday,” the Republican lawmaker said.
Offering condolences to the family of a person who attended the Trump event and was shot by the 20-year-old gunman, Turner said, “We had a countryman who went to a political rally and lost his life yesterday.”
Thank God former President Donald Trump is alive.
— US Rep. Mike Turner (@RepMikeTurner) July 14, 2024
Our democracy dodged a bullet yesterday.
Our focus needs to be on national unity as we move forward.
Today, I told @JakeTapper on @CNNSOTU that we can’t let this violence win and divide us. pic.twitter.com/nhaRB7OGZV
He noted Trump’s call Sunday for national unity “ ... and he is absolutely right. Our focus needs to be on national unity as we move forward in this election. We can’t let this violence win and divide us.”
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Turner, whose district includes Springfield, called the shooting a security failure that must be investigated.
“How is it that someone could get on a roof with a superior position with a weapon and attempt to assassinate former President Donald Trump?” he asked. “It is unthinkable, unfathomable. We need to know is this is a protocol failure, is this a resources issue or is this just a failure of those who were on site that day?”
He had not been briefed by Sunday morning.
“As the investigation goes on, we’ll learn a number of things,” Turner said.
House Speaker Mike Johnson has vowed hearings on the shooting.
Turner agreed the House has a responsibility to investigate.
“The fact that we’re hearing that people knew there was a man on this roof with a gun and were trying to get police attention while the president was up at the podium is just incredibly cause for concern,” he said.