Former CNN political analyst Christopher Cillizza has broken ranks with his former network and unleashed a scathing critique of those downplaying the recent assassination attempts on former President Donald Trump. Cillizza did not hold back in expressing his frustration with the media and political circles for minimizing the gravity of the situation.

The comments came after a series of alarming events, with two assassination attempts on Trump in the last 90 days. The most recent plot was carried out by 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh, who, according to Trump, was motivated by the “inflammatory language” of Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. Trump told Fox News that both Harris and Walz are a “bigger threat to democracy” and pointed to Routh’s political views, which paint Trump as a “threat to democracy.”

While many in the mainstream media have hesitated to connect the political rhetoric to the attacks, Cillizza didn’t shy away from addressing the seriousness of political violence in the U.S.

“I think it is so stupid and counterproductive to spend time trying to downplay the fact that the guy, two times there have been people trying to kill him over the last 90 days,” Cillizza said, in a no-nonsense takedown of those attempting to minimize the assassination attempts. He underscored that, regardless of one’s political affiliation, violence should never be a means to achieve political ends. “We are not a country in which political violence can be condoned. And just because Donald Trump helped incite January 6th does not make two rights, two wrongs equally right.”

“It does not matter if it’s Democrat or Republican or Independent or Green or Libertarian. It should not matter that it is Donald Trump because we believe that this is not a good thing or at least we should,” he said. “The way that you defeat someone who you disagree with politically is you go vote. You beat them at the ballot box.”

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Cillizza was equally critical of efforts to minimize the severity of the assassination attempts. He called out those who dismissed the incidents, saying that such attitudes were dragging the political discourse in the U.S. down to dangerous levels. “Once we start saying, well yeah, I mean it might have been a piece of glass, or he didn’t even get shot, we are bringing ourselves way down, way down to a place that we don’t want to be as a nation.”

“You beat him at the ballot box. You don’t beat him by violence or the threat of violence. That’s it.” Cillizza’s criticism comes at a critical time as the nation heads toward another contentious election, with Trump once again at the center of the political arena.

Secret Service agents responded to a potential threat near the perimeter fence after spotting a rifle barrel, according to Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw. The suspect, who was hiding in nearby bushes, fled in a vehicle but was later apprehended on the highway. Identified as Ryan Wesley Routh, owner of a small construction business in Hawaii, he had previously expressed criticism of Trump and support for Ukraine on social media platforms. Routh was positioned 300 to 500 yards from Trump at the time of the incident. Authorities discovered an AK-47-style rifle, a GoPro camera, and several backpacks at the scene where Routh was initially located.