Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said on Sunday that the person who should be blamed for the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump is 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, the individual who shot the presumptive Republican nominee at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday.

Graham made the remarks during an interview on NBC News’ “Meet The Press” with host Kristen Welker while talking about the tragic shooting in which at least one Trump supporter was killed and two more were critically injured.

“I’ve been worried about this for a very, very long time,” Graham said. “You know, if he wins, democracy is not going to end. He’s not a fascist. He represents a point of view that millions share. The rhetoric is way too hot. But I was just grateful that he made it. I mean, fate stepped in, God, the hand of God, call it whatever you’d like. But let’s don’t forget, there is a man who lost his life by attending a political rally. He’s dead. His life came to end.”

“Other people are hurt. Who to blame? Let’s blame the shooter,” he added. “But let’s all try to do better. I can tell you one thing about President Trump: he is very determined to get this country back on track. And his initial reaction, after being shot, will be an iconic moment in American history. Literally bleeding from a gunshot wound, he raised his fist. Don’t give up. Keep going.”

Graham added that Trump needs to pick someone for vice president who “is ready on day one, that can help him win, that can grow the map.”

WATCH:

WATCH: “I wish I could say I was surprised, but I’ve been worried about this for a very, very long time,” Sen. @LindseyGrahamSC (R) told #MTP after the shooting at fmr. President Trump’s rally.

“The rhetoric is way too hot, but I was just grateful that he made it.” pic.twitter.com/Go6FvJ7pks

— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) July 14, 2024

NBC News host Kristen Welker painted democratic socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) over the weekend as a victim of a 2017 assassination attempt at a Republican congressional baseball practice in Virginia that was carried out by one of Sanders’ supporters.

The remarks from Welker come after a 20-year-old who had donated to far-left causes shot former President Donald Trump at a political rally in Pennsylvania during an assassination attempt on Saturday in Pennsylvania.

“You obviously have been impacted by political violence yourself,” Welker said to Sanders during the interview. “In 2017, that horrible moment when Republican Congressman Steve Scalise was shot at baseball practice, you came out and forcefully denounced what had happened upon learning that the suspected shooter had been a volunteer for your campaign.”

“How does that experience inform how you think the country can move forward right now?” she asked.

Sanders responded: “Yeah, I am familiar with political violence in all its forms. The bottom line is what we need as a nation, what a democracy is about, is not radical rhetoric. What it is about is a serious discussion of where we are as a nation and how we go forward. You know, in a certain way, Kristen, politics should be kind of boring, you know? Our healthcare system is dysfunctional. How do we fix it? Well, it’s kind of a boring discussion, but we need a healthcare system that guarantees healthcare to all people. We have massive income and wealth inequality. Well, maybe a boring discussion. Should three people own more wealth than the bottom half of American society? So I think what we have got to see is serious discussion of serious issues and not this kind of harsh rhetoric that we have heard for the last number of years.”

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) noted after the shooting that the gunman yelled, “This is for healthcare” as he tried to murder Republican lawmakers.

Welker received criticism for her framing of what happened online from various political commentators.

Podcast host Stephen L. Miller posted: “Kristin Welker says Bernie Sanders is a victim because it was one of his supporters who shot up the softball field.”

Media Research Center Vice President Brent Baker said Welker’s framing was “strange.”

WATCH:

I’m sure bullets “impacted” Scalise more. Strange framing from @kwelkernbc. To @SenSanders: “You, obviously, have been impacted by political violence yourself. In 2017 that horrible moment when Republican Congressman Steve Scalise was shot” by one of your supporters. #MTP pic.twitter.com/i2Cnah7XCx

— Brent Baker 🇺🇦 🇮🇱 (@BrentHBaker) July 14, 2024