In the latest showing of political violence, Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania had an attempt on his life by a gunman now known as Thomas Matthew Crooks.
Trump this morning appears to be fine and in good spirits, saying he will still talk at the upcoming Republican National Convention where he will officially be called the party’s nominee.
Condemn the Violence
Regardless of political affiliation, the political violence against Trump and any other political figure is unacceptable. This continual use of political violence by any side is morally bankrupt and should be demonized by all sides if we want to continue American democracy as we have once known it.
Due to the recency of the attack it’s difficult to extrapolate what result this will have on the election or the political landscape generally, but it comes off of the heels of a recent survey from the University of Chicago which found that there are more people in favor of using violence to keep Trump from being president than those who are in favor of using violence to keep him in.
This is a concerning statistic as it means a minimum of 12% of Americans are willing to and justify themselves for using political violence from any side of the spectrum in the Trump context. In the future, regardless of electoral result we can generally expect an uptick in political violence once the Primary election gets closer or has passed. Even in the short term I could see more threats against the Republican National Convention or against Biden in retaliation.
The willingness to use violence against political enemies is most likely a result of years of incendiary rhetoric and misinformation since Trump has become part of the political sphere. The Journal of Democracy shows us that while terrorism was still a relatively common event through the early 21st century, it has recently skyrocketed in 2014 to the present when Trump then became a major political figure. This is especially true with Far-Right ideologically driven attacks. Due to the lack of knowledge about this specific attack, I would consider it a “Single Issue” attack which has also rising between 2014 and 2018.
Division Will Destroy Us
This framing of the assassination attempt by right leaning political members as an attack from Biden and the democrats is both harmful to our democracy and to our fellow countrymen. Representative Steve Scalise stated “For weeks Democrat leaders have been fueling ludicrous hysteria that Donald Trump winning re-election would be the end of democracy in America. Clearly we’ve seen far Left lunatics act on violent rhetoric in the past. This incendiary rhetoric must stop.”
Keith Self from Texas says “Every American should be outraged at Joe Biden for inciting violence against Donald Trump,” totally discounting the incitement of violence on January 6th at the capitol.
It’s worth mentioning that these statements were made before knowing anything about the gunman, even before we knew his name earlier this morning. These statements are nothing more than a way to rile up supporters in a frenzy and continue to divide individual Americans apart from one another is going to cause more damage to our democracy in the future. A change in Republican messaging needs to happen before another attack like this happens again to another one of the candidates.
My Fears for the Future
Democrat messaging against Trump has largely paused for an outpouring of support for his well being. Former president Barack Obama made a statement condemning the attack and that “we should be relieved that former President Trump wasn’t seriously hurt, and use this moment to recommit ourselves to civility and respect. . .”
This could have been a major realignment in American political history, where a deeply divided nation after an attack on a presidential candidate could come together to defend our shared interest in American democracy. Democrats have at least for now, stopped their attacks on Trump for his policy plans and have shown their willingness to support political rivals. On the other hand, some Republican lawmakers have decided that division is beneficial to their electoral chances.
I don’t think the violence or the rhetoric will cease. Immediately after the attack posts on X were claiming political backing or “deep state” conspiracy before we even knew the suspect’s name. I fear we have reached a point where we are unable to heal as a country. A political assassination on a former or sitting president has largely brought America together in times of great turmoil at least for a time.
The assassination of Lincoln after the Civil War brought together, at least for a day, a war torn country together in mourning for their president. Even in the destroyed South, news of the assassination on the upcoming Easter Sunday meant that it took on particular national importance for the grieving nation. When I look at the reactions of this attempt on a former president, I feel a broad sense of hopelessness. So quick are the political extremes that have gained such a loud voice in our discussions to make up narratives and sweep people up that we don’t even have time to process what the facts of the case are. I fear that this has become the new normal, and I want us to recognize that this is not how a normal democracy functions.
What We Can Do
Toning down the rhetoric against individuals is paramount to reducing the political tension. Neither side of the discussion can trust one another in really any way, and the lack of trust between individuals in particular being the main driver for this division. Pew Research in a poll from 2022 reports that large numbers of Democrats and Republicans using negative traits to describe the other, while another poll from Starts with Us tells us that even while we have these warped perceptions of the other side we still hold the same values. We as individual people need to recognize that we have been influenced overwhelmingly by sensationalized news, and that assigning political stances based solely on party affiliation needs to be the first thing to go. We must recognize that we need one another for democracy to work, and that each side believes that they want what’s best for our country.
This follows that civil and friendly debate needs to be common in the public sphere. We have seen that our elected officials cannot really be trusted to lead on the front of “civil and friendly debate,” so the responsibility falls upon us. On social media or in person, be the example of debate you wished our elected officials were. Listen fully to comparing points of view from the individual specifically, rather than based on the party platform. Ask probing questions as to why they may believe that as there may be party influence in their answers and counter arguments respectively.
Actively recognizing the experience and perspectives of the individual, rather than prescribing the elite messaging of the party to them is key to overcoming our perceived differences. We are not that different from one another, and fundamentally want the same things for our nation. We are constantly told that we are much different and a danger to each other.
We cannot let a wave of emotions overwhelm us in the face of this horrific attempt on Trump’s life, and we need to come to each other’s aid now more than ever. I really hope that we as the public are able to set aside our differences at least for a time and have real substantial political discussions coming out of this.