Gov. Katie Hobbs joined other politicians from both sides of the aisle in decrying political violence and calling for unity following the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
“Political violence has no place in this country, and voicing our political opinions peacefully is absolutely paramount to preserve the sanctity of our democracy,” Hobbs said before a press conference announcing a new workforce program.
“Too often our communities are being torn apart by politics. We need to come together and remember that we are neighbors, friends and American citizens all united by a love for our country.”
She said she is happy the former president is safe and “my heart is broken for those who were injured or killed.”
The governor, like other politicians, blamed incendiary political rhetoric for creating those divides.
“We have to come together, and we have to stop inflaming this kind of rhetoric, using this kind of rhetoric,” Hobbs said. “People have to not look to violence to solve their political disagreements.”
Hobbs has been on the receiving end of that incendiary language – and very real threats of violence. A man who threatened Hobbs, then the Secretary of State, over the results of the 2020 election was sentenced to over two years in prison.
“The political violence continues to increase,” Hobbs said. “It’s always a concern.”
But Hobbs stopped short of saying whether she regretted using that type of rhetoric herself in the past, including when she referred to Kari Lake, her Republican opponent in 2022, as “dangerous.”
“I’m not going to get into that,” Hobbs. “I’m not thinking about politics right now.”
Hobbs is far from the only Arizona politician who has referred to opponents in that language in recent years. In 2023, Lake suggested she and other Americans would shoot journalists and law enforcement officials in response to federal indictments against Trump.
Hobbs did appear to tone down her language when talking about her Republican opponents, though.
In the past, Hobbs has regularly referred to state Sen. Jake Hoffman – who stonewalled Senate confirmation of many of Hobbs’ nominees to run state agencies – as “an extremist.”
But Hobbs did not use that language when speaking to reporters on Monday.
“I’ve said from the beginning that I’m willing to work with anyone in the Senate who takes seriously their job to advise and consent on nominations, and not continue the chaos created by Jake Hoffman and his committee.”
However, Hobbs denied the change in language was purposeful or significant.
“He’s an indicted 'fake elector,'” Hobbs said, referring to Hoffman’s alleged participation in a scheme to undermine the results of the 2020 presidential election.
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