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— OPINION —
The attempted assassination of Donald Trump was a despicable act that never should have happened, and there is something seriously wrong with anybody who thinks otherwise.
It doesn’t matter whether the gunman was a registered Republican or gave $15 to a liberal organization once; this is not how political differences should be settled (if that was even the motivation for the shooting and not that voices in his head told him to do it — or whether some other factor was in play).
What transpired in Pennsylvania Saturday evening also does not change the fact that Trump is a menace who should not be president again. Nonetheless, acts of violence should never be condoned. He must be defeated nonviolently, and fairly — at the ballot box.
Trump is perhaps the greatest source for the incitement of political violence in the US.
As we all shudder together at what just transpired, it is important to remember the simple fact that, through the Big Lie and attempting a coup, Trump has already proven himself to be a threat to democracy, and it stands to reason that things would only get worse in his second term.
It is imperative that reasonable people not lose sight of that fact… or the consequent conclusion that Trump is perhaps the greatest source for the incitement of political violence in the US.
Some Republicans and their supporters, though, want to shield the former president from any criticism by claiming, without evidence, that the Democrats’ legitimate concerns with his policies, plans, and past behavior caused the attempt on his life.
That does not mean that Trump, his family, and all of the other victims of the failed assassination are not deserving of the country’s sympathy, as would be anyone beset by violence. However, it is also important to distinguish between this heinous crime and how Trump plans to transform the US if elected.
No matter how you feel about Donald Trump Jr., for example, just imagine the agony of watching your own father get shot on live TV.
But that also doesn’t mean that one of his initial reactions wasn’t absurd.
“If J-13 [yesterday’s attempted assassination] doesn’t get the same attention J6 [the 2021 assault on the US Capitol incited by Trump’s “rigged election” lies] did you guys are all full of shit!!!!” Donald Jr. wrote in a post directed at the press on one of his social media accounts.
That’s comparing apples and oranges, because one was a mass-scale insurrection sparked by his father’s rhetoric, while the other appears to have been the action of a lone gunman with unclear motives. Trump Jr. also doesn’t have to worry about the attempted assassination getting attention, since this is all people are going to be talking about for some time.
On the other hand, some of his criticism of the media is fair.
When an event of this magnitude happens, people on cable TV just like to talk… because that is what they are getting paid to do. But the standard airtime-filling chatter is not helpful when the person doing the talking doesn’t actually know what is going on.
We saw that on Saturday night when cable TV hosts kept trying to make sense of what happened while reconciling it live with their own political perspective.
It is also understandable that Trump supporters criticized the early coverage of the assassination attempt. The initial headlines, for example, spoke of an “incident” or a “shooting.” They felt that this took away from the gravity of the situation.
But the first obligation of journalists is to be right, not to be first or most sensationalistic. Especially in a news event like this, which will have sweeping repercussions, it is extremely important not to spread misinformation — social media does that perfectly well.
As for that extraordinary photo of a bloodied Trump raising a defiant fist to his supporters moments after being shot, it was taken by an AP photographer, Evan Vucci, who put his own life on the line to capture a representative image of the unfolding scene. Yet it will surely be in every GOP campaign ad from now until November.
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump raises his fist as he is rushed off stage after an assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Butler, Pa. @apnews pic.twitter.com/VoAYqRC4QV
— Evan Vucci (@evanvucci) July 14, 2024
You see where this is going: Many things can be true at the same time.
For example, the Secret Service agents of Trump’s detail performed heroically when jumping in front of the former president with no regard for their own lives. On the other hand, the agency will have to answer some serious questions about how someone with a rifle could get a clear shot at a presidential nominee from a few hundred feet away.
People have a tendency to only view things through their own lens… but that invariably prevents them from seeing the whole picture.
Also, while there are plenty of things to criticize Trump for, his conduct on Saturday is not one of them. From his show of defiance immediately following the shooting to the gracious and muted statement he released a few hours later, he performed admirably. He thanked the people who protected him and expressed his condolences to the victims… all without getting rumors started.
He followed that up with another statement on Sunday morning that was remarkably restrained for Trump.
And, if you feel that he should not have raised his fist and told his supporters to fight, then you may want to reflect on why that is. If you are being honest, the answer is probably “because it helps him politically.”
Which brings us to partisanship.
People have a tendency to view events through their own lenses… but doing so invariably prevents them from seeing the whole picture.
This means that, in a hyper-partisan country where most people create their own echo chambers, even a potentially unifying event like the attempted assassination of a presidential candidate will turn into something divisive.
Initially, most of the nation’s leaders did pretty well, with all of them rejecting violence.
However, there were also plenty of the usual suspects who wanted to immediately use what happened to push their agenda.
For example, Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Lauren Boebert (R-CO) tried to pin the attempted assassination on their perceived foes — i.e., the media and President Joe Biden respectively.
But Republicans do not have a monopoly on saying dangerously inflammatory things in public.
“The last thing America needed was sympathy for the devil but here we are,” wrote Colorado State Rep. Steven Woodrow (D) in a now-deleted tweet.
That message was immediately criticized by the chairman of Colorado’s Democratic Party, who had some advice that all Americans should heed in the days to come (but too few likely will)
“Spoke with Rep Woodrow – this is a regrettable tweet and [Colorado Democrats] condemn it,” wrote Shad Murib. “We also condemn Lauren Boebert recklessly and dangerously blaming President Biden for today’s attack. Folks – we must commit ourselves to helping to calm our politics, not further dividing us.”
Wise words to live by.
