Dem staffer axed after saying Trump gunman should have taken ‘shooting lessons so you don’t miss next time’
A staffer for a Democratic congressman from Mississippi was fired for her inflammatory comments that she hoped the shooter who targeted Donald Trump “wouldn’t miss next time.”
“I don’t condone violence but please get you some shooting lessons so you don’t miss next time ooops that wasn’t me talking,” Jacqueline Marsaw wrote on Facebook Saturday evening, shortly after Trump narrowly avoided being shot in the head during a rally in Pennsylvania.
Marsaw, of Natchez, worked as a field director for Rep. Bennie Thompson, the Natchez Democrat reported.
Marsaw also wrote that the shooting — which killed one rally attendee and critically wounded two others — “couldn’t [have] happened to a nicer fellow,” though she insisted that it was a “staged” incident.
“That’s what your hate speech got you!” she added in a third post, seemingly referring to Trump’s often-controversial takes on social and political issues.
As of Sunday morning, all the posts had been deleted.
“I got overwhelmed in the moment,” Marsaw told the Natchez Democrat.
“I am a diehard Democrat,” she added.
She deleted her posts after she was instructed to do so by a manager on Thompson’s team, Marsaw explained.
Everything we know about the Trump assassination attempt
- 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks was identified as the shooter who attempted to assassinate Donald Trump during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
- Crooks was shot dead by Secret Service agents.
- The gunman grazed Trump’s ear, killed a 50-year-old retired fire chief, and injured two other rally-goers.
- Investigators detailed Crooks’ search history to lawmakers, revealing that he looked for the dates of Trump’s appearances and the Democratic National Convention.
- Crooks’ search history also revealed a broad interest in high-profile people and celebrities, regardless of their political affiliation, FBI officials reportedly said.
- Trump exclusively recounted surviving the “surreal” assassination attempt with The Post at the rally, remarking, “I’m supposed to be dead.”
- High-profile politicians, including President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, addressed the nation about the shooting, calling it “a heinous, horrible and cowardly act.”
The comments, however, continued to draw backlash online.
“@BennieGThompson should FIRE his field director for condoning the attempted assassination of President @realDonaldTrump!!!” the Mississippi GOP wrote on X alongside screenshots of the comments.
Mississippi Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann echoed calls for Marsaw’s ouster, writing that Thompson should let her go “immediately.”
“With staff like this the poison is deep,” former Republican presidential candidate and House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) chimed in.
On Sunday afternoon, Thompson confirmed that Marsaw was “no longer in [his] employment,” Fox News’ Aishah Hasnie reported.
Here’s the latest on the assassination attempt against Donald Trump:
Would-be Trump assassin Thomas Crooks visited gun range dozens of times — including Christmas — for ‘intense preparation’- Newly surfaced texts show Trump rally gunman was on authorities’ radar more than 90 minutes before shooting: report
- FBI to conduct victim interview with Donald Trump after assassination attempt
- Ex-Trump doc says FBI’s Wray is ‘wrong’ to doubt ex-prez was struck by bullet: ‘Absolutely no evidence’
- Trump defends female Secret Service agent who was criticized after assassination attempt: ‘So brave’
Marsaw’s firing came as conservatives decried left-leaning social media users who were celebrating and even making light of the Saturday night shooting.
Some of the tasteless jabs included mock séances summoning the spirit of Abraham Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth, as well as impassioned cries lamenting that the shooter missed.
