Exclusive: Steve Scalise was shot by a radical leftist — now he reacts to Jay Jones’ murderous fantasies

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), who survived a politically motivated assassination attempt, reacted to the murderous fantasies of a high-profile Democrat in an exclusive sit-down interview with Blaze News.

Scalise recounted his brush with death in 2017 when a leftist shooter opened fire during a Republican practice for the Congressional Baseball Game in Virginia. Scalise and three others were wounded in the politically motivated shooting, but all victims miraculously survived.

‘I know firsthand just what can happen.’

“I should not have made it through the day,” Scalise told Blaze News. “God was on that ball field, and there were miracles that were performed.”

“Turned out it was a left-wing nut who was motivated to go kill every Republican,” Scalise added. “He just wanted to do that. And again, we’ve seen this over and over again. … It’s insanity. But unfortunately, it’s become too prevalent.”

RELATED: Democrat Jay Jones’ scandals pile up: Criminal investigation emerges on the heels of violent texts

As Scalise noted, these ideologically motivated acts of violence have become commonplace in American political life. Just in the months leading up to the 2024 election, President Donald Trump survived two assassination attempts, with one would-be assassin getting within an inch of fatally shooting him.

Although these acts of violence sent shock waves across the country, these attacks are not limited to politicians.

In September, hundreds of students watched Charlie Kirk get assassinated on the Utah Valley University campus at the kickoff event of his college tour. In the days after the murder, law enforcement found bullet casings with various politically suggestive slogans written on them, including the phrase, “Hey, fascist! Catch!”

While these attacks were a sobering moment for many, some have insisted that political violence is a both-sides issue. Scalise knows “firsthand” this is not the case.

“Wherever it comes from, if somebody’s advocating for or committing violence, we should all call it out. Doesn’t matter where it’s coming from,” Scalise told Blaze News. “But it just seems like more and more we’re seeing it come from the left.”

“They just think if they tag you a Nazi, then that makes it okay to kill you,” Scalise added. “That is telling certain people — it’s like a dog whistle to say, ‘Go kill that person.’ And it’s just what they say about their political opponents. It’s insanity.”

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Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images

“It’s alarming. It’s disturbing,” Scalise told Blaze News. “Because I know firsthand just what can happen when people say certain things.”

One of the most alarming instances of violent rhetoric coming from the left came when now-infamous texts from Jay Jones, the Democrat candidate for Virginia attorney general, were revealed earlier this month. In those texts, Jones fantasized about giving his political adversary “two bullets,” insinuated that the man was worse than Hitler, and even wished death upon his kids.

“Do you really want to elect that person as a law enforcement officer in your state?” Scalise asked in response to the texts. “Should other elected officials be accepting and condoning and endorsing that, or should they denounce it, which I did? Everybody should denounce it, and yet some won’t for political reasons.”

“I think it’s a gut-check for people’s integrity,” Scalise added. “If you’re willing to accept a call to violence because you’re more worried about a political party advancing than you are worried about civility in this country, that’s a real big concern for alarm.”

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