DALLAS — Former President Donald Trump was the target of an attempted assassination at a rally in Butler County, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, July 13.
He escaped serious injury, but officials say one spectator was killed, and two additional spectators were critically injured.
The shooter, meanwhile, was killed by Secret Service.
This shooting happened just days before the former President was expected to accept the Republican nomination in Milwaukee for a third time at this year's Republican National Convention.
In the wake of the shooting, Dallas County Republican Chair and longtime ally of the former president Allen West tells Inside Texas Politic that political discourse in this country needs to change.
"We have got to tone down the rhetoric," West said. "Let's be able to have debate and discourse at an intellectual and a respectable manner. I think that's what we have to restore in this country."
West openly wonders how something like this could happen to a former president, and what processes and procedures would enable someone to be able to get into a rally and shoot a president at all.
"How was someone able to get that close to a President?" West wondered aloud. "I'm sure -- without a doubt -- the Secret Service will go back and look at all their processes, and we'll get to learn more details about [the shooting] and how was that weapon able to get in."
The County Chair believes the shooting will impact the upcoming Republican National Convention in numerous ways. He says there will be heightened security, for one, and not just for the venue, but also for the people from all over the country who will be attending the convention.
"I'm sure they're very much concerned about their own safety as they're walking the streets or going out to certain restaurants and venues," said West of those planning to attend the upcoming convention.