Vice President JD Vance stated that he does not know what led Thomas Matthew Crooks to open fire at Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. He acknowledged that talks with federal investigators have not provided a clear reason for the gunman’s political shift, according to a recent interview published on Friday.
“I don’t know,” Vance replied when asked about Crooks’ motive. The Daily Mail reported that the vice president offered this response during an exclusive interview.
Vance’s comments revisited a major unanswered question from the shooting on July 13, 2024. Crooks, 20, shot from a rooftop at the stage where Trump was speaking. Trump suffered an ear injury, one attendee, Corey Comperatore, died, and two others were hurt before a Secret Service sniper killed Crooks. This is based on reports from the time and later summaries of the incident.
Federal authorities have repeatedly stated they could not immediately identify a motive. The FBI mentioned shortly after the attack that they had identified Crooks and were continuing their investigation. They reviewed electronic devices and conducted interviews. CBS News reported that investigators informed lawmakers Crooks searched online for images of Trump and President Joe Biden and looked up other public figures, yet they still did not have a clear motive at that point.
In the new interview, Vance criticized Crooks for leaving few clues. He described Crooks as “a loner who got radicalized on the internet.” He also mentioned he had not received a “satisfactory answer” regarding how Crooks shifted from being “very radically pro-Trump” to “very radically anti-Trump.”
These comments differ from Vance’s statements immediately following the Butler shooting. At that time, he argued that Democratic political messaging contributed to an environment where violence could occur. In a statement shared by Reuters on July 14, 2024, then-Senator Vance claimed, “The central premise of the Biden campaign is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs. That rhetoric led directly to President Trump’s attempted assassination.”
Vance’s response faced backlash from political opponents and some commentators who argued that leaders should not place partisan blame while investigators were still gathering information. People magazine summarized that after Vance became Trump’s running mate, President Biden condemned the violence and called for unity. Vance’s remarks, however, drew criticism from current and former officials.
Separate from the issue of motive, investigations into the security failures at Butler have continued. A Senate Judiciary Committee report last year mentioned that a Grassley report found Secret Service failures in sharing threat information and outlined steps the agency should take to improve security operations. Politico reported in July 2025 that the Secret Service suspended six agents following a disciplinary review related to the Butler incident. Internal and independent reviews noted lapses and miscommunication.
Public reports have also pointed out inconsistent signals about Crooks’ political beliefs in the months leading up to the shooting. There were accounts indicating he maintained a low profile, left little evidence of a manifesto, and showed interest in various political targets. The Guardian reported shortly after the attack that the FBI found no indication that Crooks acted with a larger group and that investigators were still trying to comprehend his actions.
In the new interview, Vance suggested that investigators may never answer that question. “Maybe we will never know the answer to that; sometimes motivations go unsolved,” he stated, as quoted in the secondary report.
