NBC News host Kristen Welker painted democratic socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) over the weekend as a victim of a 2017 assassination attempt at a Republican congressional baseball practice in Virginia that was carried out by one of Sanders’ supporters.

The remarks from Welker come after a 20-year-old who had donated to far-left causes shot former President Donald Trump at a political rally in Pennsylvania during an assassination attempt on Saturday in Pennsylvania.

“You obviously have been impacted by political violence yourself,” Welker said to Sanders during the interview. “In 2017, that horrible moment when Republican Congressman Steve Scalise was shot at baseball practice, you came out and forcefully denounced what had happened upon learning that the suspected shooter had been a volunteer for your campaign.”

“How does that experience inform how you think the country can move forward right now?” she asked.

Sanders responded: “Yeah, I am familiar with political violence in all its forms. The bottom line is what we need as a nation, what a democracy is about, is not radical rhetoric. What it is about is a serious discussion of where we are as a nation and how we go forward. You know, in a certain way, Kristen, politics should be kind of boring, you know? Our healthcare system is dysfunctional. How do we fix it? Well, it’s kind of a boring discussion, but we need a healthcare system that guarantees healthcare to all people. We have massive income and wealth inequality. Well, maybe a boring discussion. Should three people own more wealth than the bottom half of American society? So I think what we have got to see is serious discussion of serious issues and not this kind of harsh rhetoric that we have heard for the last number of years.”

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) noted after the shooting that the gunman yelled, “This is for healthcare” as he tried to murder Republican lawmakers.

Welker received criticism for her framing of what happened online from various political commentators.

Podcast host Stephen L. Miller posted: “Kristin Welker says Bernie Sanders is a victim because it was one of his supporters who shot up the softball field.”

Media Research Center Vice President Brent Baker said Welker’s framing was “strange.”

WATCH:

I’m sure bullets “impacted” Scalise more. Strange framing from @kwelkernbc. To @SenSanders: “You, obviously, have been impacted by political violence yourself. In 2017 that horrible moment when Republican Congressman Steve Scalise was shot” by one of your supporters. #MTP pic.twitter.com/i2Cnah7XCx

— Brent Baker 🇺🇦 🇮🇱 (@BrentHBaker) July 14, 2024