Tragedy at Trump rally upends election campaign – for now
The 2024 election campaign now has a striking new image: Donald Trump, just moments after narrowly escaping serious injury or death from an assassin’s bullets, standing with his fist raised, blood streaking down his face, and an American flag billowing behind him.
“Fight! Fight! Fight!” the former president declared, as some supporters, who had moments before feared for their lives, began cheering.
The violence in Pennsylvania will leave a lasting impression on the American psyche, shattering the illusion of security surrounding the highest levels of presidential politics—despite magnetic screenings, bulletproof limousines, and heavily armed Secret Service agents. Even former presidents are not immune to the violence that can erupt in everyday American life.
This was also a dramatic moment in American political history, one that is sure to be replayed in video clips, still photographs, and testimonial accounts throughout this presidential campaign and in future campaigns.
In a rare address from the Oval Office on Sunday evening, President Joe Biden called on Americans to lower the intensity of political debates.
“[It] must never be a battlefield and, God forbid, a killing field,” he warned. “No matter how strong our convictions, we must never descend into violence.”
The attack has already begun to influence America’s partisan dialogue, with numerous Republicans condemning President Biden and the Democrats for fostering a rhetorical environment conducive to violence.
They cite warnings about the former president becoming a dictator and threatening democracy as examples of the overheated language that could inspire an assassin.
In particular, they highlight leaked comments the president made in private to donors last week about increasing attacks on the former president’s record and putting a “bull’s-eye” on him.
“They’ve tried to take him out in so many other ways, financially, they’ve tried to throw him in jail,” Donald Trump Jr. said in a television interview on Sunday. “It’s almost as if they would love for this to happen.”
At least so far, however, the motives and political affiliations of the alleged assassin, 20-year-old Pennsylvania resident Thomas Matthew Crooks, are in doubt. They may ultimately defy an easy partisan narrative.
The former president’s oldest son went on to add that, after the assassination attempt, those on the left can no longer accuse the former president of culpability for the 6 January attack on the US Capitol.
That violent episode took place hours after the then-president had held a rally just a few dozen blocks away, challenging the 2020 election results. His actions on that day led to his impeachment by the House of Representatives and, more than a year later, indictment by a special counsel appointed by the US attorney general.
If the Pennsylvania shooting defuses this line of criticism by Democrats, it’s just one way in which it will have fundamentally reshaped this presidential campaign. Others may become clear throughout the Republican National Convention, which starts on Monday in Milwaukee.
The failed attack on the former president plays into several themes the Trump campaign was already planning for the quadrennial gathering, which culminates with Trump taking the stage to accept his party’s nomination on Thursday night.
The first is that it could provide a boost to the politics of grievance and persecution that have been a central focus of his rally speeches and social media posts.
“They’re not really after me; they’re after you,” is a common Trump refrain, on t-shirts, billboards, and car stickers. “I’m just in the way.”
That message will land with new force after the former president and his crowd of supporters were sprayed with bullets. Trump’s legions of fans – many of whose support borders on near-messianic hero worship – will have all the more reason to identify with a man who almost lost his life while standing before them.
