On Saturday, the attempted assassination of Donald Trump at a campaign rally left the former president bloodied but not seriously injured, an audience member and the gunman dead and two other spectators seriously wounded.
A few hours later, in a brief press conference, President Joe Biden condemned the shooting and expressed sympathy to his opponent, calling him “Donald” in a rare break from the animosity between the two men.
Mainstream political figures and pundits from across the political spectrum also immediately expressed concern for Trump and the other victims and condemned this act of political violence.
By contrast, many people on social media were quick to embrace conspiracy theories. Trump detractors speculated that the shooting was staged, while his supporters suspected a left-wing attack, even after the FBI identified the deceased gunman as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, apparently a registered Republican.
The scepticism on both sides of the political spectrum represents the deep political divides that exist in the United States. The two presidential campaigns will undoubtedly seek to make the most out of the incident in the coming days. But in their pursuit of political gains, the two parties should not ignore a major escalation of political violence that needs to be urgently addressed.
Trump emerged from the incident triumphant. As security agents escorted him offstage, he defiantly pumped his fist in the air while his supporters chanted “USA, USA!” The former president is basking in all the public and media attention.
The spotlight shifting to Trump is ironically what the Biden campaign wants as well. The focus on the incumbent’s fitness for office and cognitive abilities has eaten away at his support.
The hope is now that all the attention on Trump will highlight his extremism, legal troubles, and his party’s far-right agenda, detailed in the extensive Project 2025 plan, from which he has unsuccessfully tried to distance himself. The Democrats believe that this could encourage swing voters to move away from him.
Despite Trump being a victim of this assassination attempt, he is the candidate who has been associated with encouraging political violence: from his supporters assaulting Capitol Hill during the January 6 insurrection to mocking the near-fatal attack against Nancy Pelosi’s husband by a hammer-wielding intruder seeking to kidnap the congresswoman.
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