- Steven Woodrow represents Denver in the Colorado State House of Representatives
- He said the fact that Trump was shot meant people would have “sympathy for the devil.”
- Woodrow released a statement on Monday apologizing.
A Colorado lawmaker has been forced to apologize for a bizarre post comparing Donald Trump to Satan following his attempted assassination on Saturday.
Steven Woodrow, who represents Denver in the Colorado House of Representatives, made the post on social media shortly after the assassination attempt in Pennsylvania.
“The last thing America needed was sympathy for the devil, but here we are,” he wrote, referring to Trump.
He was immediately overcome with outrage, with people pointing out other posts he had made comparing Republicans and Trump supporters to Nazis.
Woodrow issued a statement Monday in which he apologized, though he did not say he was sorry to any specific person or group.
Steven Woodrow, who represents Denver in the Colorado House of Representatives, has been forced to apologize for a bizarre post comparing Donald Trump to Satan following his attempted assassination on Saturday.
Trump was seen surrounded by the US Secret Service at a campaign event in Butler after a bullet fired by 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks grazed his ear.
“We must always resolve our differences peacefully at the ballot box, not through violence,” Woodrow said, according to the Denver Post.
“I know people are hurting and I apologize that my words caused additional pain.”
While he condemned the assassination attempt, he did manage to criticize Trump, saying his “inarticulate” post was intended to claim that “acts of violence like this are horrific and only make it more likely that Trump will now win,” echoing a panic among Democrats since the first debate.
Woodrow even came under fire from his fellow Democrats, with the state party chairman also offering condemnation from both sides.
“I spoke with Rep. Woodrow. This is a regrettable tweet and the @coloradodems condemn it. We also condemn Lauren Boebert for recklessly and dangerously blaming President Biden for today’s attack,” wrote Shad Murib.
“Friends, we must commit ourselves to helping calm our politics and not to further divide us,” he added.
Woodrow has since deleted his account on social media platforms X and Instagram.
Donald Trump’s family and supporters have criticised the liberal media for downplaying Saturday night’s assassination attempt and publishing insensitive op-eds in the wake of the atrocity.
Former White House press secretary Jen Psaki also came under fire for saying the Republican Party needed to tone down its rhetoric.
CNN, The New York Times and NBC have all come under fire from Republicans online for their reactions to one of the worst instances of violence ever seen in American political history.
The editors were criticized for describing the shots as “loud popping noises” and for describing Trump “falling” off the stage without reference to the assassination attempt.
The New York Times also came under fire for publishing an op-ed titled “Donald Trump Is Unfit to Lead” that encouraged voters to “reject him in November” the morning after the shooting.
Printed over a sinister backlit silhouette of Trump’s profile, the title page also reads: “He failed the tests of leadership and betrayed America.”
The president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., led the criticism on X, calling CNN “vile” and “a disgrace” for its coverage of the incident at the Butler, Pennsylvania, campaign event.