Police arrested the suspected assailant, 42-year-old David Wayne DePape, and Paul Pelosi was taken to hospital with a fractured skull.
Following the attack on Paul Pelosi, reports have emerged that DePape was steeped in right-wing conspiracy theories, including the claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.
The response of Republican figures has varied considerably, ranging from outright condemnation to using the attack to target Biden’s record on crime ahead of the midterms.
Immediately after the incident Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell was among the Republicans who condemned the attack. He said he was “horrified and disgusted” by the event, and said he was hopeful Paul Pelosi would make a “full recovery.”
The House Republican whip, Steve Scalise, said on Twitter: “Let’s be clear: Violence has no place in this country. I’m praying for Paul Pelosi’s full recovery.”
Using the Attack to Target Joe Biden’s Record on Crime
Some Republicans used the attack to criticize President Joe Biden’s record on crime ahead of the midterms.
On the day of the attack Kari Lake, the Republican candidate for governor of Arizona, said the attack proved “the policies of the left that have made our streets more dangerous” during an appearance on Laura Ingraham’s Fox News show.
Also on October 28 Devin Nunes, CEO of the Trump Media & Technology Group, condemned the attack during an appearance on right-wing channel Newsmax.
But he went on to link it to more general law and order problems. He said: “Where were the Democrats and Pelosi when people were outside my home with my young daughters in the home, and my wife, by themselves? Where were they when they targeted my 98-year-old grandmother? Where were they when Antifa showed up on my family’s farm?”
Marjorie Taylor Greene took to Twitter and blamed President Joe Biden for the levels of crime in the U.S.
She wrote: “Violence and crime are rampant in Joe Biden’s America. It shouldn’t happen to Paul Pelosi. It shouldn’t happen to innocent Americans. It shouldn’t happen to me. (Swatted six times, violence & death threats every day).”
Promoting Conspiracy Theories and Making Jokes
Following the attack a number of unfounded conspiracy theories about Paul Pelosi started circulating online, with Donald Trump also questioning the events of October 28.
Dinesh D’Souza, producer of 2000 Mules, a film which falsely claims the 2020 presidential election was rigged, said: “The Left is going crazy because not only are we not BUYING the wacky, implausible Paul Pelosi story but we are even LAUGHING over how ridiculous it is.”
During an appearance on Chris Stigall’s conservative radio show Trump himself described the incident as “very sad,” before questioning police reports of a break-in.
The former president said: “Its weird things going on in that household in the last couple of weeks.
“You know, probably, you and I are better off not talking about it. The glass, it seems, was broken from the inside to the out and, you know, so, it wasn’t a break in, it was a break out.”
Elon Musk was widely criticized after he shared a baseless conspiracy theory about the attack that was being shared by right-wing Twitter users. He added: “There is a tiny possibility there might be more to this story than meets the eye.”
The new Twitter boss later deleted the post, without explanation.
Donald Trump Jr. was widely criticized after he shared a picture of a hammer and a pair of men’s underwear, that was captioned “got my Paul Pelosi Halloween costume ready.”
Retweeting the picture he also included a jibe against Hunter Biden. Trump Jr. said: “The internet remains undefeated… Also if you switch out the hammer for a red feather boa you could be Hunter Biden in an instant.”
However he later called the attack “heinious” after a backlash.
New York Republican Claudia Tenney tweeted a photograph of men posing with hammers for Halloween, adding: “LOL [laugh our loud].”
Conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, co-founder of Turning Point USA, suggested an “amazing patriot” should pay to bail out DePape.
Using the Incident to Promote Gun Ownership
On Thursday, addressing a Trump rally in Iowa, House Representative Majorie Taylor Greene said the attack was carried out “by a drugged out illegal alien,” adding “Paul Pelosi should have been a gun owner and shot his attacker.”
What the Republican Reaction Means
Newsweek spoke to a number of American politics experts at University College London about the Republican reaction, and what it means for the future of U.S. politics.
Dr Julie Norman, co-director of the university’s Centre on US Politics, told Newsweek: “Many prominent figures, Democrats and Republicans, were quick to condemn the attack on Paul Pelosi. But the fact that this was not ubiquitous across the GOP underscores the dismal state of US politics at the present moment.
“Even the relatively low bar of extending condolences has been replaced by peddling conspiracy theories by some on the right… The fact that the GOP can’t or won’t take a firm stance against political violence doesn’t bode well for the party, or the country.”
Professor Iwan Morgan, an expert on the modern U.S. Presidency, connected the attack to reduced adherence to “democratic norms” from some in the GOP, and warned there could be more violence to follow.
He told Newsweek: “The fact that the attacker was intent on doing serious harm to the Speaker of the United States Congress had she been home at the time cries out for clear condemnation from all levels of every party. The comments by some Republicans are quite disgraceful and a slur on democracy.
“The Republican party has become since 2016 a thoroughly Trumpian party whose regard for democratic norms has frayed. Refusal to accept the outcome of a fair election violates the essence of democracy.
“I fear things are going to get worse in terms of escalations of political violence. It’s rather trite to say that Republicans need to recognize the dangers ahead that their party is helping to fuel, but there’s no other way of putting it.”
A similar view was expressed by Dr Colin Provost, an associate professor of public policy, who noted the role conspiracy theories played in radicalizing the attacker.
The academic said: “Consumption of right-wing misinformation and conspiracy theories appear to have been a major contributing factor to David DePape’s attack on Paul Pelosi. Conspiracy theories in particular dehumanize political opponents and portray them as evil monsters and therefore, people with whom negotiation or compromise is impossible.
“In the wake of the attack on Pelosi, the passive support for such violence is seen in the responses of some GOP elites who fail to acknowledge the toxic hatred that such attacks normalize.”
Newsweek has contacted the Republican Party for comment.
