The shooting at a campaign rally for 45th President Donald Trump late Sunday night Kyiv time (Saturday afternoon U.S. time), which is being investigated as an attempted murder, has upended the already dark and turbulent race for the White House.
The assassination attempt, which has happened more than once in American political history, has once again set off a storm of discussion about what might change in the elections, which will take place in less than four months.
The American press burst with bright headlines on the main pages, and political strategists and political analysts began to make predictions regarding how the assassination attempt on Trump would affect US society, the political situation and the world as a whole.
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ICTV Facts collected the main discussions and materials from the American media regarding the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, the main candidate for the US presidential election from the Republican Party.
Cult and prayers around Trump — Washington Post
WP notes that the shooting of Trump “will undoubtedly change the meaning and tone” Republican National Convention, which is scheduled to begin in Milwaukee tomorrow, Monday. This is where Republicans are expected to announce their nominee and try to unite their party and the nation behind their vision of grievance and retribution.
The newspaper also points out the image that was created for Trump after he was captured by photos and video cameras immediately after the assassination attempt.
— A few pictures of this moment — including one with a bloodied Trump in the shadow of an American flag — have already spread across social networks and are sure to become a cult favorite. Several Republican lawmakers simply posted photos without saying anything, — says the material.
Douglas Brinkley, a historian of presidential politics at Rice University, shares a similar opinion.
— There is something in the American spirit that loves to see resilience and courage under pressure, and the fact that Trump raised his fist high will become a new symbol. Surviving an assassination attempt makes you a martyr because you receive a wave of public sympathy — Brinkley said.
According to the publication, “the shooting, the shock waves of which are still spreading beyond the country”, will bring “turmoil to the presidential contest”, which has already been plunged into turmoil for just over two weeks back when Biden's poor debate performance raised questions about his age and ability to campaign vigorously.
— Trump often feels most comfortable — and most effectively — when he plays both martyr and victim, and Saturday's shooting naturally returns him to that role, — the material says.
The Washington Post also points out that the America First Policy Institute, which is a key group seeking to elevate Trump's policies, held a virtual prayer vigil at 9 p.m. Saturday.
— Religious leaders offered prayers. One of them said there was no doubt that God intervened to spare Trump's life. Another thanked God that Melania Trump is not a widow, — writes WP.
At the same time, Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, led a prayer on behalf of the dead rally participants and said that the attack on Trump — this is an attack on “all of us”, echoing Trump's usual claims of martyrdom.
— We remember the words that President Trump always tells us: It's not that they're coming for him. They're coming for us — behind all of us, and he just stands in the way, — said Pavone.
Additionally, historian Brinkley says that the timing of the shooting — on the eve of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee — highlights the similarities between Trump and former President Theodore Roosevelt, who sought a return to the presidency in 1912 and was the victim of an assassination attempt while campaigning in Milwaukee.
According to Brinkley, Roosevelt, who had been shot in the chest, stated, “It takes more than a bullet to kill a moose”, and “continued to speak, delivering a caustic speech before heading off to hospital”.
— Trump travels to Milwaukee, where Theodore Roosevelt was shot, — Trump has the biggest stage of all, — Brinkley said.
Steve Schmidt, a former Republican strategist and prominent Trump critic, agreed.
— The political consequences of this assassination attempt will be enormous, and they will benefit Donald Trump, who reacted to the shooting in the same way as Teddy Roosevelt, — wrote Schmidt on social networks.
It is also noteworthy that Theodore Roosevelt lost the 1912 election, finishing second to Woodrow Wilson.
Joy After Shock and Conspiracy Theory in the Republican Party — Politico
Another political publication — Politico — writes about how Republicans in the US Congress have already begun counting down the time until Donald Trump returns to the White House. According to some of them, the shooting at a rally on Saturday night made his path to victory even easier.
— President Trump will survive this attack — he just won the election, — said spokesman Derrick Van Orden shortly after the shooting.
Other Republicans, however, did not go that far, although they did predict that the shooting would bolster support for the 45th president and give them political points in the November election.
— It would energize the base more than anything else. And he, you know, put his fist in the air and wouldn't go away. And he's screaming, fight, fight, fight. That's going to be the rallying cry, — said spokesman Tim Burchett, citing photos and videos of Trump that have quickly spread online.
Photo: Getty Images
Some Republicans in Congress, such as Representative Mike Collins (D-Hawaii), have spread baseless conspiracy theories that Biden “ gave the order” about the shooting, citing Biden's figurative remarks about how Democrats need to target Trump “in the bull”. And Senator Mike Lee(R-Utah), in a joint statement with Trump's former national security adviser, said Biden should “immediately” prosecutors to drop federal charges against Trump as part of efforts to “lower the political temperature”.
But it's not just Republicans like Van Orden and Burchett, who live in safer, traditionally Republican districts, who predict the political fallout will greatly motivate their voters in November.
Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (D-NY), who represents a district with many undecided voters, said that , while he believes issues like border security and the economy will have already “carried Trump to victory”, the fallout from the shooting “will undoubtedly cause people to come out streets”.
D’Esposito County on Long Island — one of about two dozen that will decide control of the House of Representatives. Questions about Biden's electability have already left Democrats questioning their chances of holding on to the White House, and maintaining a majority in the Senate was already seen as a challenge. The shooting at a Trump rally has made Republicans even more doubtful that they will be able to gain the full trifecta of control of the federal government: the presidency and both houses of Congress.
As Politico continues, the fallout from the assassination attempt will likely extend beyond politics, as members of both parties are calling for an investigation into the case.
House Oversight Chairman James Comerhas already said it plans to hold hearings into the shooting, although Republicans are divided over whether to blame the Secret Service for letting the gunman slip by or wait to see what the official investigation says.
— There are many questions, and Americans demand answers. I have already asked the Secret Service to hold a briefing, and I am also calling on Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to appear at the hearing. The Oversight Committee will issue a formal invitation soon, — Comer said in a statement.
Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnsonvowed in a statement that his chamber would conduct a full investigation. FBI Director Christopher Wray was scheduled to testify before the House Judiciary Committee later this month before Saturday's shooting.
— The American people deserve to know the truth. We will ask Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle and other relevant officials from DHS and the FBI to appear at our committee hearings as soon as possible, — Johnson stated.
And demands for an investigation aren't just coming from House Republicans. Senator Josh Hawley said that his House Homeland Security Committee “should investigate this assassination attempt and attempted mass murder and get to the bottom of how it could have happened& ;#8221;.
— The nation needs to know who did this. And why. And we need a full, public congressional investigation into HOW this happened — he added.
However, D’Esposito, a former NYPD detective, cautioned against blaming the Secret Service so early.
— I think from what we've seen, the Secret Service has done a great job. They were able to remove the president from the stage in a matter of seconds, put him in the car and hit the road. So no, I don't think we're at a point where we should criticize any law enforcement agencies. I think it's still very early. We need to see what exactly happened, at what distance the shooters were, and understand what really happened, — said D’Esposito.
Division and political violence in the United States — Bloomberg
In turn, the Bloomberg news agency calls the assassination attempt on Trump “a moment of horrific political violence”, which turned “into an icon” Donald Trump.
Like WP, the agency points to the role of photographs of Trump taken immediately after the assassination.
— His (Trump, — Ed.) supporters, many of whom considered him a movement figure and a martyr long before Saturday's violence, took the photos as a metaphor for resilience former President, — writes the agency.
Getty Images
However, another important component that Bloomberg writes about is the political division in American society. According to the agency, the shooting at the rally “speaks of division and contentiousness” this rematch of the presidential race after 2020, when Trump and Biden competed for the White House.
In addition, the agency writes, is indicative of the looming sense of political violence that now permeates political discourse” .
In a May poll conducted jointly by Bloomberg and Morning Consult, half of “swing voters” states have already said that fear violence during the elections.
Partly to avoid worsening political violence, prominent Democrats, including President Biden, rallied around the assassination attempt on Trump.
— I'm grateful that he is safe and doing well. There is no place for such violence in America. We must unite as one nation to condemn him — Biden said Saturday night.
America is not ready for what comes next — Vox
Zach Beauchamp, who is a senior correspondent for Vox, wrote immediately after the attack on Trump that even though all the details of the assassination attempt are currently unknown, “ ;we should all be terrified of what happens next”.
In his opinion, American politics has recently found itself “in the trap of simultaneous stability and instability”.
— It is stable in the sense that there are clearly defined and seemingly unshakable partisan differences. It is unstable in the sense that these divisions have become so deep and bitter that they threaten the basic belief in political coexistence that any democracy needs to survive, — he writes.
Beauchamp recalls how two years ago he spoke with leading world experts on the issue of the collapse of democracies and the future, in the context of this issue.
— Many of them warned of an increase in political violence. The more people hate and fear their political opponents, the more likely they are to go beyond the law to try to stop them, — Beauchamp quotes experts as saying.
At the same time, he warns, “when one of the sides is attacked, the other side is more likely to respond in kind”.
This can lead to a cycle of violence that is similar to the “Years of Lead” in Italy, when, over a period of about 15 years starting in 1969, far-left and far-right paramilitary groups carried out a series of bombings and murders.
— Political violence tends to be emotional in nature and committed by angry people who have little control over their impulses. In this country, our political emotions are never higher than during a presidential election — especially when both sides believe that the fate of the republic depends on their outcome, — he writes.
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Despite all the unclear circumstances of the assassination attempt, Beauchamp continues, it is now obvious that “the risk of something similar will increase during the elections”.
— In fact, the very circumstances that make political violence more likely in America today are what make our political system ill-equipped to deal with its consequences. Extreme polarization makes cooperation difficult and makes suspicion natural. Some Republican members of Congress are already accusing Democrats of an assassination attempt on Trump, — he reminds.
In his opinion, even the United States — an extraordinary country, “which is the richest and most powerful that has ever existed in the history of mankind”, but it is torn apart by perhaps “the most serious internal contradictions since the Civil War& #8221;.
— The shooter's bullet just sent the country into the abyss. The only question is how far we will fall, — he summarizes.
