‘Try Harder’: Public Calls For PA Mayor To Resign Over Menacing Post After Trump Shooting

The public is calling for a Pennsylvania mayor to resign after he posted what many interpreted to be a menacing message following the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.

Mayor Shawn Raup-Konsavage of Bernville reportedly posted, “Try harder” on Facebook shortly after the deadly shooting at Trump’s campaign rally in Butler, about 270 miles west.

Meet Shawn Raup-Konsavage @shawnraup , the Mayor of Bernville, PA. He reportedly said “try harder” after the sh**ter missed.

A petition is going around to get him removed after he allegedly bragged about no one being able to kick him out of office.

Our tax dollars fund his… pic.twitter.com/OA2N0koKPi

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) July 16, 2024

Raup-Konsavage also wrote “#PennsylvaniaProud” in his post, which included a celebratory background image.

The small-town mayor also reportedly doubled down when commenters challenged his rhetoric.

“I didn’t take it down… and I have zero intentions of resigning,” Raup-Konsavage wrote.

“Better yet, there isn’t even a way for you to have me removed from office,” he boasted.

A petition demanding he step down has garnered more than 2,700 signatures as of Wednesday morning, over three times the population of Bernville.

In May 2020, just after George Floyd’s death, an X account that appears to be Raup-Konsavage posted that he is an “openly gay man” and praised the “less than peaceful” 1969 Stonewall riots. He reportedly endorsed Democrat Pete Buttigieg’s campaign for president in 2019.

“If anyone would be a subject matter expert on not doing your job it would be you Mr. President. Any chance you want to start doing yours first?” he wrote in a June 2020 tweet responding to a post from Trump.

Last year, Raup-Konsavage ran for district judge and emphasized that he did not think politics belonged in the courtroom.

“Despite being an elected official, I believe that a judge must be politically neutral and politics should never play a role when justice is pursued,” Raup-Konsavage said at the time.

Trump narrowly missed being killed when a gunman’s bullet grazed his right ear during Saturday’s rally. He ducked behind a podium before he was whisked away by Secret Service agents. As he exited the stage, Trump raised his fist and shouted, “Fight!”

Law enforcement returned fire immediately, killing the shooter. At least one rallygoer was killed, and two others were injured.

Since Saturday’s assassination attempt on Trump, many people have put jobs in jeopardy by lamenting on social media that the shooter had not killed the former president.

Several other Pennsylvania officials faced backlash over their comments, including a Lackawanna County community-relations manager, Rick Notari, who posted, “It’s a shame the guy missed.” Notari was suspended from his job.

Trump is scheduled to speak at the Republican National Convention on Thursday.