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Ex-Biden staffer, CNN contributor says Dems must ‘turn their fire’ on Trump — and immediately apologizes

By
Chris Nesi
Published July 16, 2024, 4:59 p.m. ET

CNN contributor and former Biden White House communications director Kate Bedingfield firmly planted her foot in her mouth Monday when she urged Democrats to “turn their fire” on former President Donald Trump — less than 72 hours after he was nearly felled by an assassin’s bullet.

“[Biden] has said many, many times after having been questioned many times about this that he’s not stepping down and that he’s going to be the nominee. So at some point, Democrats have to decide that they want to try to win this election and turn their fire on Donald Trump,” Bedingfield said.

Kate Bedingfield on CNN
Bedingfield immediately realized her error and apologized, but the casual violence-tinged rhetoric has characterized much of the political discourse this election cycle. CNN
Trump grabbing his ear at the moment he was shot.
Former President Trump came within about a quarter-inch of dying after a sniper’s bullet grazed his right ear at a campaign rally in Butler, Pa. REUTERS

Her tone-deaf choice of words came as she was speaking on a panel as part of the network’s prime-time RNC coverage, which also included CNN mainstays like Anderson Cooper and Van Jones.

Bedingfield seemed to immediately realize her error, pausing momentarily before apologizing for her poor choice of words.

“I shouldn’t have said ‘turn their fire’ – I apologize, that was not the phrase that I meant. They need to turn their focus on Donald Trump,” she amended her initial statement as an unseen male panel member awkwardly chuckled.

The poorly timed Freudian slip comes just as members of the media and Trump’s Democratic rivals are facing intense scrutiny for their role in ratcheting up the tone and tenor of political rhetoric this election cycle, which many critics say laid the groundwork for Trump’s near-assassination.

Here’s the latest on the assassination attempt against Donald Trump:

Trump salutes with a slight smile and a bandage over his ear.
The near-assassination of former President Trump has led to calls to dial back the anger in America’s political discourse. Tamara Beckwith/N.Y.Post

President Biden, who himself drew criticism for saying Democrats should put Trump in a “bullseye” less than a week before the Pennsylvania rally shooting, said during a rare Oval Office address Sunday night that Americans should “lower the temperature in our politics,” and that “while we may disagree, we are not enemies.”