Trump breaks silence after Democrat's home torched by 'wacko' (2025)

President Donald Trump suggested Monday that the attack on Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro home wasn't due to the Democrat's political leanings - with Trump pointing out that the attacker didn't like him either.

'The attacker was not a fan of Trump, I understand,' Trump told reporters, saying he didn't know what the suspect's motive was. 'Just from what I read and what I've been told,' the president explained.

Trump was asked about the early Sunday alleged arson at the Pennsylvania governor's mansion as he hostedEl Salvador's President Nayib Bukele in the Oval Office.

'The attacker basically wasn't a fan of anybody, probably just a wack job, and certainly a thing like that cannot be allowed to happen.'

The suspect, 38-year-old Cody Balmer of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, expressed general anti-government sentiment on his social media pages, posting memes that urged people to 'become ungovernable.'

He posted negative comments about Democratic President Joe Biden's 2020 election win, seemingly rejecting that it was legitimate.

At the same time, he shared a meme in 2020 blasting both Democrats and Republicans saying the two parties'would rather argue with other than work to solve the problems we are facing.'

In June 2022, Balmer reposted a meme suggesting he was a fan of Kanye West's foray into politics.

'Every time I stop to get gas, I personally feel that we should have taken our chances with Kanye,' the meme said.

Rapper Kanye West ran for president in 2020, receiving around 70,000 votes.

More recently the rapper has expressed anti-Semitic views and spent time with far-right personalities, including Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes.

Also in 2022 Balmer reposted artwork of a Molotov cocktail with the slogan: 'Be the light you want to see in the world.'

The suspect allegedly used two beer bottles filled with gasoline to make homemade Molotov cocktails to light fire to Shapiro's Harrisburg mansion, the official property where Pennsylvania governors reside.

Balmer turned himself into Pennsylvania State Police on Sunday telling officers he was 'harboring hatred towards Governor Shapiro.'

Additionally, according to the police affidavit seen by DailyMail.com, Balmer told police he 'would have beaten him with a hammer' if they had crossed paths.

The Jewish holiday of Passover started this weekend and Shapiro is Jewish, leaving some wondering if Balmer was expressing anti-Semitic views.

Balmer had worked as an auto mechanic and faced criminal charges in the past.

He pleaded guilty to forgery and theft in 2015 and again to forgery in 2016.

Balmer was also charged with assault in 2023 in a case that is still open.

Biden, a political ally of Shapiro's, said in a post on X Monday: 'Jill and I are disgusted by the attack on the Shapiro family and their home during the first night of Passover.'

'We are relieved that they are safe and grateful to the first responders,' Biden said.

'There is no place for this type of evil in America, and as I told the Governor yesterday, we must stand united against hatred and violence,' the former president said.

PoliticsPennsylvania

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