“Everybody Loves Raymond” star Patricia Heaton called on “her friends on the left” to cool their heated political rhetoric after a gunman tried to assassinate President Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
“I wasn’t happy when Clinton, Obama or Biden won, but I didn’t call them fascist/dangerous/threat to democracy,” the 68-year-old wrote on X Sunday, a day after the suspect Cole Allen was tackled after opening fire at the Washington DC event.
“I didn’t hope someone would assassinate them. I went on with my life with gratitude,” she added. “Friends on the left, please try this. Your life and our country will be better.”
First lady Melania Trump and President Trump react to reports of shots fired at the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner at the Washington Hilton, Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Washington. PoolHeaton’s comments came after the third attempt on President Trump’s life since 2024, when he was wounded dand nearly killed at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
And it was not the first time she sounded off on social media over heightened political temperatures.
During the 2024 election she accused political pundits of “fear-mongering” and trying to convince voters that Trump was a threat to their way of life.
“To all these extremists that are allowed television time, who told women that this is what is going to happen to them, shame on you. Shame on you,” she said in a video poster to her X account.
“Apparently, there are some really vulnerable people here who you targeted, and you fear-mongered to and you need to go back on the air and tell them things are going to be okay, tell them that they’re fine,” she added.
Patricia Heaton onstage during the America Reads The Bible Opening Night Celebration at Capital Turnaround on April 18, 2026, in Washington, DC. Getty Images for America Reads The Bible“Also, stop saying people who voted differently from you are ‘uneducated,’” Heaton said. “Learn your f–king lesson about smearing people who vote differently from you, who have different needs from you, who have legitimate complaints. Quit dismissing them as uneducated. When are you going to learn?”
Then after the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk in September she made her voice heard again – that time shaking her head at the scores of people who celebrated the murder.
“The most violent rhetoric is always from people who have phrases like ‘choose kindness’ in their bios,” Heaton wrote on X.
Heaton was just one of several voices that have called for a de-escalation of political rhetoric since the latest assassination attempt – with even Democrats joining the calls.
Authorities have identified the suspect as 31-year-old Cole Allen, of Torrance, Calif., adding that he prepared a manifesto outlining his intent and shared anti-Trump and anti-Christian rhetoric on social media. truthsocial/realDonaldTrump“Please stop trying to murder the president,” Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA) wrote on X Saturday.
President Trump himself even said the reaction he’s received from people who are normally staunch political opponents has been remarkable.
“It was a very sad evening in many ways, and it was also an evening where a lot of people got together,” Trump told Fox News the day after the shooting.
“So there was something very nice,” he added. “I think it came together. The place was just coming together. It was very nice to see, actually.”
