Zeldin: Attack on Me ‘Was a Long Time Coming’ Thanks to Rhetoric from Left

On Friday’s broadcast of Fox News Radio’s “Brian Kilmeade Show,” New York gubernatorial candidate Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) agreed with New York Republican Party Chairman Nick Langworthy that New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) shouldn’t have shared his campaign schedule and said the attack on him “was a long time coming because of what happened with Maxine Waters a few years ago…encouraging people to confront Trump administration officials and supporters at restaurants and elsewhere.”

Zeldin said [relevant remarks begin around 54:50] he shares Langworthy’s anger and added, “I’ll tell you, this was a long time coming because of what happened with Maxine Waters a few years ago, who is the Chair of the House Financial Services Committee I serve on, encouraging people to confront Trump administration officials and supporters at restaurants and elsewhere. The Steve Scalise shooting hit very close to home for me, I was serving in the House with everybody at that time and with the Capitol Police officers who were attacked. So, I am far more sensitive to this point now. I believe that nobody should — I don’t care what kind of a rally — whether you’re going to a rally to support a Republican candidate or a Democratic candidate or a third party, nobody should be trying to settle that score through political violence.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett