Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz blames President Donald Trump’s National Guard deployment policies for a shooting that killed one soldier and wounded another in Washington, D.C.<\/b>
\nRep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., has long performed a key role for many on the left. When there is an argument barred by decency or decorum, Wasserman Schultz is happy to make it, from attacking journalists in her defense of censorship to attempting to rig an election and bar Republicans from ballots as part of her defense of democracy. However, on Friday, the Florida representative set a new low in American politics: attempting to assign blame for the shooting of two National Guardsmen not on the attacker, but President Donald Trump.
On CNN\u2019s «News Central», Wasserman Schultz declared:
«This is a deeply concerning situation, but, you know, it\u2019s one that I think we have to \u2014 it begs the question, would an individual have flown across the country to target law enforcement officers in Washington, D.C.? And, I mean, the answer is likely no. So why wasn\u2018t the president\u2018s first thought, \u2018Wow, you know, maybe I should reconsider deploying military troops in the nation\u2018s capital or in any city?\u2019 Particularly not when they haven\u2018t coordinated closely with the leadership of these cities and when we have law enforcement that are quite capable of handling the criminal justice issues that are \u2014 that we need law enforcement to focus on, and not our military.»
There is a good-faith debate over the deployment of National Guard personnel in cities. However, the mayor of Washington, D.C., has worked with the Administration on that deployment, and crime has fallen in the Capitol. They have been coordinating with the city.
Nevertheless, Wasserman Schultz pressed on:
«I just think, you know, the president looks everywhere except inward to blame his own policies. We need to make sure that we don\u2018t have our military deployed in our cities, doing \u2014 handling law enforcement responsibilities. And we need to make sure that we address gun violence. We certainly need to make sure we always have the proper and appropriate and tight, tight vetting processes, and those should be reviewed. But it\u2018s never the president\u2018s fault or his policies when it comes to his reaction, and it\u2019s pretty disgusting.»
D.C. has some of the strongest gun control measures in the nation. Moreover, this is a crime committed with a handgun brought from another area with strong gun control, Washington State.
Wasserman Schultz is also assuming that it was the deployment that motivated the shooter, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national. Lakanwal entered the U.S. on September 8, 2021, under Operation Allies Welcome, a program established by former Democratic President Joe Biden after the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021. Wasserman Schultz, however, does not blame former President Joe Biden for his presence in the United States. (Lakanwal, a former member of a CIA unit in Afghanistan, was reportedly granted asylum under the Trump Administration in April).
Investigators are still working to discover the motive of Lakanwal for murdering one soldier and critically wounding another. However, Wasserman Schultz feels entirely comfortable in suggesting that it was the deployment of the Guard in cities over Democratic objections. Of course, a view other possibilities come to mind. First, it could be an act of religious-based terrorism. Second, it could be an act of mental illness. Third, it could be a personal grievance with the U.S. government.
Killing soldiers in the nation’s Capitol can be appealing for any of these motivations or a combination of motivations. It is not obvious that someone travels across the country because this is where you can find personnel on the streets. After all, there are also troops deployed in other states closer to Washington state. There are also large bases in Washington state where military personnel are present in large numbers in public areas.
A shooter with any of these motivations could view the location as amplifying his grievances against the government. Wasserman Schultz seems to suggest that Trump is responsible for making troops targets due to the controversial use of the Guard and supplying targets for a terrorist.
The most important point for Wasserman Schultz is a familiar one: Trump did it.<\/p>\n