In a country already on edge, the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump enraged his supporters and halted the Democratic campaign and raised fears of further political violence in the run-up to the November elections.
Trump’s Republican allies painted him as a hero on Saturday, seizing on the image of him with a bloody ear. and his fist raised, apparently mouthing the words “Fight! Fight! Fight!”
While Trump has regularly used violent language toward his supporters, the former president’s advisers and allies flipped the script against his Democratic opponent, President Joe Biden, saying that it was the demonization of the Republican presidential candidate that led to the assassination attempt.
“Today is not an isolated incident. 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 the attempted assassination of President Trump,” said U.S. Senator JD Vance of Ohio in Xone of the leading candidates to be Trump’s running mate.
Biden acted quickly to try to calm the situation, denouncing the attack as unacceptable political violence and removing election ads attacking Trump.
“There is no place in America for this kind of violence. It’s sickening,” Biden told reporters.
The shooter’s motivation is not yet known. The suspect, Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, was registered as a Republican, according to state voter records. He had previously made a $15 donation to a political action committee that raises money for left-wing politicians and Democrats.
In the short term, the attack will likely boost Trump’s appearances in Milwaukee this week at the Republican National Convention as he accepts his party’s presidential nomination, reinforcing the sense of grievance and alienation his supporters already feel toward the country’s political class.
Within hours of the shooting, the Trump campaign sent out a text message asking voters to contribute to the campaign. “They’re not after me, they’re after you,” the message said.
Billionaires Elon Musk and Bill Ackman also quickly endorsed Trump. “I fully support President Trump and “I hope he recovers quickly,” Musk said on X, the social network he owns.
Chris LaCivita, co-chair of Trump’s campaign, said on X that “for years and even today, left-wing activists, Democratic donors and now even Joe Biden has made disgusting comments and descriptions about Donald Trump’s shooting… it is time for them to be held accountable for this… the best way is through the ballot box.”
LaCivita was apparently referring to Biden’s recent comments in the context of asking his supporters to focus on defeating Trump rather than his own performance. “So, we’re done talking about the debate, “It’s time to put Trump on the spot,” said Biden, who has always condemned any kind of political violence.
Political attacks
The United States is facing the largest and most sustained rise in political violence since the 1970s. Of the 14 fatal political attacks that have occurred since Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, In those cases where the perpetrator or suspect had a clear partisan leaning, 13 were right-wing attackers. One was left-wing.
Despite being a former president, Trump has campaigned as an outsider, complaining that he has long been targeted by the federal “deep state” and the Biden administration to prevent him from regaining power.
In doing so, he has routinely employed violent, demeaning, and even apocalyptic rhetoric, warning of a “bloodbath” if he is not elected and saying that immigrants in the United States illegally are “poisoning the blood of our country.”
Some Republicans were already upset for constantly adding fuel to the fire.
“If the country wasn’t a powder keg before, it is now,” said Chip Felkel, a Republican operative in South Carolina who has opposed Trump.
Brad Bannon, a Democratic strategistsaid the shooting could benefit Trump politically because it fuels his campaign narrative that the country is off track.
“The assassination attempt generates sympathy for Trump,” Bannon said. “It also confirms to voters the idea that Trump is a candidate for president.”and that something is fundamentally wrong with this nation, which is an idea that drives support for him.”
In May, Trump was found guilty of participating in a scheme to cover up an affair with a porn star, a conviction that did little to alter the race and suggested that supporters on both sides remain entrenched in their positions.
Biden has had to deal with a debate within his own party over whether he should resign his post as the Democratic nominee due to concerns that he is no longer fit for office. He says his doctors have told him who is in good shape. Trump has benefited in some polls from Biden’s disastrous performance in last month’s debate, but others show the race as close.
Many voters have already felt alienated from both Biden and Trump. The chaos surrounding the candidates may contribute to voters feel that the country’s problems have no solution and that the gap between the parties cannot be overcome.
U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise, A Republican who was shot by a gunman in 2017 told Fox News that violent election rhetoric must end.
“All it takes is one deranged person to hear that and go out and act on it and think that’s their cue to take someone out,” he said.