Lee Zeldin Says ‘Democrats Out Of Power’ Must Preach ‘Zero Tolerance’ To Disturbing Trend

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin appeared on Fox News Monday to urge “Democrats out of power” to condemn and distance themselves from a growing wave of politically motivated threats and violence.

In 2022, then-Republican New York gubernatorial candidate Zeldin experienced political violence when a shooting occurred just outside his Long Island home while his teenage daughters were inside. During an appearance on “The Ingraham Angle,” Zeldin said the climate of political hatred is becoming dangerously normalized.

“There’s an attempt right now to try to figure out how to oppose President Trump and the right. There are people out of power right now, and they’re flailing. They can’t figure out the right names to call, the right tactics to use, and they’re getting more and more extreme,” Zeldin said. “There’s not a more important moment than right now for these Democrats who are out of power to be sending that message that this is from the fringe, zero tolerance, it won’t be normalized, and if you are following me, that leader, you make it very clear that this is not welcome in this society in this moment.”

Zeldin also urged leaders to reject fringe influences.

“This needs to be treated as the fringe. And there are people who are in politics who have individuals across the country who follow them,” Zeldin told host Laura Ingraham when asked about his reaction to the ramped-up violence. “And these people in office have been following those people instead of leading them. This comes from the fringe. It needs to be treated as from the fringe, and it needs to be treated with zero tolerance.”

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Zeldin warned that public figures like journalist Taylor Lorenz are “feeding into” extremist narratives by engaging in provocative rhetoric online, drawing dangerous attention and amplifying instability. Lorenz, a former Washington Post columnist,