PITTSBURGH – Former President Trump could have used the assassination attempt against him to further divide a politically fractured nation, but instead he chose to try to unify by flexing his muscles and offering an inclusive RNC message, said the Republican congressional candidate running in the shooter's home district.
James Hayes, the son of a steelworker who later worked for the Richmond Federal Reserve before returning to Pittsburgh, said his community is still recovering from both the attempted murder and the discovery that shooter Thomas Crooks lived there.
Hayes, who is running against Rep. Summer Lee, a Democrat from Pennsylvania and a member of the Squad, said it is “unimaginable” that the incident would involve a community like Bethel Park.
“This is a very conservative group of people who love America. They're very patriotic. And for someone from that area to be the shooter is just incredible to all of us,” Hayes said.
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Republican James Hayes is running for Congress in Pittsburgh against Rep. Summer Lee, a Democrat from Pennsylvania and a member of the “Squad.” His district includes the home of Thomas Crooks, the attempted assassin of Trump. (Fox News Digital)
“I've talked to people from that area and they just can't… I mean, they just can't believe that someone from that area ended up being the shooter,” he said.
Hayes added that he was not at the Butler, Pennsylvania, rally, but did travel to Wisconsin to attend the Republican National Convention.
At the convention, Hayes said, Trump's unwavering reaction to his near-death demonstrated why he deserved the nomination.
“I think President Trump could have gone either way. If [he] They were the demagogue who [people] Let's say I could have used that [incident] “To further divide us and further incitement. But he didn't do that, because that's not who he is,” Hayes said.
“He reached out to America. He made this statement: 'I don't want to be the president of 50% of America. I want to be the president of 100% of America.' And I think we should accept that. We should accept that as a people. We want to be Americans.
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Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally Saturday, July 20, 2024, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
“We want to be united as Americans. That's what I want. That's what I want for our community. And that's why I'm so excited that maybe out of tragedy something really good can come.”
In terms of his own campaign, which faces an uphill battle in one of the state's most Democratic districts, Hayes said he remains optimistic, adding that it better aligns with the values of the Pittsburgh area.
“We support our police. We support our energy industry. We want parents to be involved in our schools. We fully support immigrants. My wife is a Mexican immigrant, but we want immigration to be legal, we want people to respect our laws,” he said.
He said he also hopes to win Democratic votes in Pittsburgh, a deeply Democratic district, where he lives in the Shadyside neighborhood northeast of downtown.
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A Pittsburgh police car (Pittsburgh Police Bureau)
Democrats in Pittsburgh, he said, are not truly aligned with the party's left flank and remain the working-class and blue-collar voters who personify the Steel City.
“They don't support Hamas. They don't seek to defund the police or abolish prisons. They don't seek to shut down our energy industry,” Hayes said.
“Democrats in this area share all the values that I share, so I hope I can get Republican, Democratic and independent votes, and that will lead me to victory.”
