In a nation already tense, the attempt on former President Donald Trump’s life has incensed his supporters, halted Democratic campaigning, and heightened concerns about escalating political violence leading up to November’s election.
Trump’s Republican supporters hailed him as a hero on Saturday, rallying around the image of him with a bloodied ear and raised fist, seemingly mouthing the words “Fight! Fight! Fight!”
While Trump has often used aggressive rhetoric, his advisers and allies turned the narrative against his Democratic opponent, President Joe Biden, suggesting that the demonization of Trump by Democrats had triggered the assassination attempt.
“Today is not just some 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 President Trump’s attempted assassination,” U.S. Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio, a top candidate to be Trump’s running mate, said on X.
Biden moved quickly to try to defuse the situation, denouncing the attack as unacceptable political violence and pulling election ads attacking Trump.
“There’s no place in America for this kind of violence. It’s sick,” Biden told reporters.
The motive behind the shooter’s actions remains unknown. The suspect, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, is registered as a Republican according to state voter records. He had previously donated $15 to a political action committee that supports left-leaning and Democratic politicians.
In the immediate aftermath, the attack is expected to amplify Trump’s presence at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this week, where he is set to accept his party’s presidential nomination. This incident is likely to reinforce the grievances and sense of alienation felt by his supporters towards the political establishment.
Shortly after the shooting, Trump’s campaign sent out a text message urging supporters to contribute to the campaign, emphasizing a message of solidarity: “They’re not targeting me, they’re targeting you.”
Billionaires Elon Musk and Bill Ackman quickly voiced their support for Trump. Musk, owner of the social media site X, stated, “I fully endorse President Trump and wish him a speedy recovery.”
Chris LaCivita, Trump’s campaign co-manager, highlighted on X that “for years, and even today, leftist activists, Democratic donors, and now even Joe Biden have made reprehensible comments and insinuations about shooting Donald Trump … it’s time they face consequences, starting with the ballot box.”
LaCivita appeared to be referring to recent comments by Biden, where he urged supporters to focus on defeating Trump rather than criticizing his own performance.
“So, we’re done talking about the debate, it’s time to put Trump in a bullseye,” said Biden, who has always condemned any political violence.
The United States is currently facing its most significant and sustained rise in political violence since the 1970s. Out of 14 fatal political attacks since the January 6, 2021 storming of the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters, where the perpetrator or suspect’s partisan affiliation was clear, 13 have been linked to right-wing assailants, with one involving a left-wing perpetrator.
Despite his status as a former president, Trump has positioned himself as an outsider insurgent in his campaign, alleging longstanding targeting by the federal “deep state” and the Biden administration to thwart his return to power. Throughout, he has employed confrontational, demeaning, and at times apocalyptic language, warning of dire consequences if he is not reelected and alleging that undocumented immigrants are “poisoning the nation.”
Some Republicans have expressed discomfort over his ongoing inflammatory rhetoric.
“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 strategist, said the shooting could benefit Trump politically because it feeds into his campaign narrative that the country is off-track.
“The attempted assassination creates sympathy for Trump,” Bannon said. “It also confirms the idea to voters that something is fundamentally wrong in this nation, which is an idea that drives support for him.”
Trump was convicted in May for attempting to conceal an affair with a porn star, a legal outcome that had minimal impact on the election race and indicated entrenched positions among supporters on both sides.
Meanwhile, Biden has faced internal debate within his party about whether he should step down as the Democratic candidate due to concerns about his fitness for office. Biden has maintained that his doctors have affirmed his good health. Recent polls have shown mixed results, with some indicating a boost for Trump following Biden’s contentious debate performance last month, while others suggest a closely contested race.
Many voters have become disillusioned with both Biden and Trump. The turmoil surrounding the candidates may further reinforce the perception among voters that the country’s problems are insurmountable and that the partisan divide is irreconcilable.
Republican U.S. Representative Steve Scalise, who survived a shooting by a gunman in 2017, emphasized on Fox News the urgent need to halt violent rhetoric in electoral discourse. He warned of the potential consequences, stating, “All it takes is one person who is just unhinged to hear that and go out and act on it and think that’s their signal to go take somebody out.”
