Former US President Donald Trump suggested Wednesday that Democrats calling him a “threat to democracy” could have led a 20-year-old gunman to try to assassinate him, reports Politico.

“Such a distressed sick world, but you know what could be caused when they call you a threat to democracy,” Trump told a crowd of supporters in North Carolina. “You never know what causes it. I’m a threat to them. They’re a threat to democracy. They’re a threat. They’re a threat to our country period.”

The calls to label Trump a “threat to democracy” began after rioters stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, but especially ramped up when President Joe Biden decided to run for reelection last year and made it a key talking point while on the campaign trail, Politico added.