By Matthew Holloway |

Two years after the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, the Republican National Committee (RNC) is drawing attention to past remarks by Arizona Democratic congressional candidate JoAnna Mendoza in which she questioned the federal government and compared the United States to countries where democracy has collapsed.

Mendoza, a retired Marine running to represent Arizona’s Sixth Congressional District, made the statements during three separate political appearances released online between 2025 and 2026.

The RNC accused Mendoza of contributing to hostile political rhetoric surrounding Trump and connected her comments to the violence directed against him.

“JoAnna Mendoza continues to spew vile conspiracy theories and the extremely divisive rhetoric that have led to three assassination attempts against President Trump,” RNC spokesman Nick Poche said in a statement provided to AZ Free News. “Americans will never forget what happened in Butler, or the Democrats who refused to lower the temperature and tried to tear our nation apart.”

In the first video, released by LD18 Democrats, Mendoza questioned the reliability of federal intelligence while answering a question about the Middle East and Iran.

Mendoza criticized the Biden and Trump administrations’ handling of Israel, Gaza, and Iran before questioning whether the government possessed reliable intelligence about recent actions involving Iran.

“Can we even trust our intelligence agencies right now?” Mendoza asked. “Can we even trust our government to give us the correct information? And I think the answer to that is no.”

Mendoza made the second set of remarks during a presentation to Indivisible Tucson Action while explaining why she entered the congressional race.

Mendoza said she was alarmed by what she described as the Trump administration’s actions in communities across the country and suggested that the nation’s democratic institutions were being eroded.

“It really scares me to think that, you know, what we’re seeing play out right now across our nation in communities, to see what this administration is doing, I never thought that I would see in the homeland,” Mendoza said.

“I never thought that I would see what has transpired happen here,” she continued. “You see it in countries like the ones I’ve been deployed to where democracy does not exist or has fallen.”

Mendoza did not identify a single policy or incident in that portion of the presentation. Rather, she broadly characterized the administration’s conduct as “unprecedented” and said she entered the race because she could no longer remain on the sidelines.

“What we’re seeing is unprecedented, and this is not the norm,” Mendoza said. “I just couldn’t stand by on the sidelines and watch this happen to our country or to its people, to us, to we the people.”

The third clip came from an interview with MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas, who introduced Mendoza during a segment criticizing Trump and Republican Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ06).

During a discussion of border security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Mendoza questioned the training and conduct of ICE agents. Meiselas compared the administration’s practices to propaganda and tactics employed in other countries, and Mendoza agreed with the comparison.

“I know. It’s like we’re living in a third world country,” Mendoza said. “I mean, I’ve been deployed to countries who do not have democracy, who are in authoritarian regimes.”

“I never thought that I would see the government and its federal law enforcement agency turn against the American people,” she added, before alleging a pattern of misconduct involving ICE agents.

The RNC released the clips on July 13, two years after Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire during Trump’s campaign rally near Butler.

Trump was wounded in the right ear. Former fire chief Corey Comperatore was killed while protecting his family, and rally attendees David Dutch and James Copenhaver were wounded, according to the Secret Service.

The FBI said in a 2024 statement that its investigation found no credible evidence that Crooks worked with co-conspirators. Investigators examined his electronic devices, searches, and online activity but did not determine a definitive motive.

The Associated Press reported that Crooks searched for campaign appearances involving both Trump and then-President Joe Biden and viewed the Butler rally as a “target of opportunity.” Reuters reported that his computer activity reflected a mixture of ideological interests without demonstrating a definitive left- or right-wing motivation.

Trump faced another assassination attempt on Sept. 15, 2024, when Ryan Wesley Routh positioned himself with a rifle near Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida. A federal jury convicted Routh in September 2025, and he was sentenced in February to life plus 84 months in federal prison. At trial, prosecutors presented a letter in which Routh described the incident as an assassination attempt and offered $150,000 to anyone who would “complete the job.”

Routh’s writings demonstrated explicit hostility toward Trump. The Associated Press previously reported that Routh had urged Iran to assassinate Trump in a self-published book and later wrote that “DEMOCRACY is on the ballot and we cannot lose.”

A federal grand jury has also indicted Cole Tomas Allen on charges including attempting to assassinate Trump during an April 25 shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner. Prosecutors alleged that Allen ran through a security checkpoint carrying a shotgun and fired at a Secret Service officer, striking the officer’s ballistic vest, as he moved toward the ballroom where Trump was located.

Reuters reported that Allen sent relatives a manifesto describing Trump administration officials as prioritized targets. Prosecutors alleged that Allen disagreed politically with Trump and wanted to “fight back” against government policies he considered morally objectionable. Allen pleaded not guilty, and the case remains pending.

Mendoza is seeking the Democratic nomination to challenge Ciscomani in November.

Mendoza is also facing questions from the RNC about salary payments she has received from her own campaign.

The Mendoza campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.