Colorado state representative apologizes for post comparing Trump to the devil

DENVER (KDVR) — A now-deleted social media post by a Colorado state representative garnered attention after he compared former President Donald Trump to the devil following the attempted assassination at his rally.

On Saturday, Trump was the target of an assassination attempt as he spoke during a rally in Pennsylvania. One spectator was killed by the alleged gunman, and two other attendees were critically injured, the U.S. Secret Service said.

Retired Colorado Secret Service agent reacts to Trump shooting

Many lawmakers from both sides of the aisle posted on X to share their thoughts on the political violence. However, one politician from Colorado is being condemned for his words.

On Saturday night, state Rep. Steven Woodrow, who represents Colorado’s 2nd District, posted on the social platform X: “The last thing America needed was sympathy for the devil but here we are.”

The post garnered at least 1 million views before Woodrow deleted his X account.

FOX31 reached out to Woodrow and received this statement.

“I condemn this attempt on President Trump’s life in the most forceful of terms. My message, as inarticulate as it was, is that acts of violence like this are awful and only make it more likely that Trump now wins. We must always resolve our differences peacefully at the ballot box—not through violence. I know people are hurting, and apologize that my words caused additional pain,” Woodrow.

Other Democrats who work with Woodrow at the Capitol issued statements condemning the post.

“There is no place in our democracy for political violence, and I was very disturbed by the assassination attempt on former President Trump. Representative Woodrow’s tweet was in poor taste, he has apologized and he deleted it, however violent threats against elected officials like those he is now facing are never acceptable. This is a moment for us to come together, turn down the hateful rhetoric and engage in more respectful political debate,” House Speaker Julie McCluskie, who represents the state’s 13th district, said in a statement.

“Violence of any kind is never the answer or solution, and my heart goes out to everyone impacted by this weekend’s tragic events. Rep. Woodrow has apologized for his tweet, which was the right thing to do. We condemn the threats and attacks he is receiving and renew our call to all Coloradans to talk about our differences with respect,” House Majority Leader Monica Duran, who represents Colorado’s 23rd District, said in a statement.

Across the aisle, the Colorado House Republicans issued a statement calling the post “a troubling town in our political discourse.”

“We must uphold the principle that political violence will not be tolerated and is a threat to democracy,” Minority Leader Rose Pugliese, who represents Colorado’s 14th District, said in the party’s release. “Any elected official who downplays such serious incidents does a disservice to the people of Colorado.”

Shad Murib, the chair of the Colorado Democratic Party, also posted a response to Woodrow’s comments.

Trump on assassination attempt: ‘I should be dead’

Murib also called out Rep. Lauren Boebert’s response to the deadly attack. FOX31 spoke directly to Boebert who called out President Joe Biden.

“I hope that this is a check on those who call for political violence. Unfortunately, we saw the sitting president of the United States call for Trump to be put in a bullseye last week. This rhetoric is real, people are listening and they are unfortunately acting out on those words called out by those who are in leadership,” said Boebert.

Biden made a statement to donors on July 8, saying “it’s time to put Trump in the bullseye.” Biden’s remarks were part of a broader approach to turn scrutiny on Trump, with no explicit call to violence, according to the Associated Press.

Several other Colorado lawmakers released statements over the weekend.

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