CHICAGO — Amid a flurry of gunfire at former President Donald Trump’s political rally in a Pennsylvania field, and a flurry of unrest over the 2024 election campaign, an assassination attempt is plunging an already tense American political climate into full-blown hysteria.
The historic moment of shocking political violence put the country on edge ahead of the Republican National Convention, which begins in Milwaukee on Monday, transforming it from a routine political ritual into a landmark event for a deeply divided nation.
Trump, bleeding from a bullet that reportedly pierced his ear, was escorted off the stage by Secret Service agents on Saturday in Butler, Pennsylvania. “I can’t believe this kind of behavior could happen in our country,” Trump wrote on social media shortly after the incident.
A political system already strained to breaking point is dealing with the fallout from a rifle shooting that nearly killed the Republican presidential candidate. President Trump’s Democratic opponent, President Joe Biden, condemned the violence.
“We cannot allow this to happen, and it should not be this way,” said Biden, who has faced growing calls over the past two weeks for him to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race because of his age, and who met with Trump after the shooting.
Trump called for national unity in a social media post early Sunday morning. “Now more than ever it is important that we come together, show our true American character, remain strong and determined, and do not let evil win,” he wrote.
The message was echoed by political leaders from both parties, and messages of prayer and support for Trump became a rare bipartisan rallying cry.
But what happened to Trump also provoked deep anger and indignation. Shock quickly turned to condemnation, and the accusations began even before the shooter or a motive had been identified. The FBI identified Trump’s shooter early Sunday as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Pennsylvania.
Crooks killed one rally attendee and injured two others before being shot dead by Secret Service agents.
Already viewed as a persecuted figure by many in his party, Trump was once again portrayed as someone whose critics would stop at nothing to prevent him from holding public office.
Those sentiments are sure to be a major talking point at the party’s convention this week, as disgruntled supporters vent their frustrations on thousands of Trump loyalists.
“First they tried to silence him. Then they tried to jail him. Now they’re trying to kill him,” U.S. Rep. Corey Mills of Florida wrote on X.
Both Trump campaign officials and a leading vice presidential candidate said rhetoric from Biden and Democrats created the atmosphere that led to the shooting.
“Left-wing activists, Democratic donors, and now even (Biden) have made disturbing statements and portrayals that take shots at Donald Trump,” Trump senior adviser Chris LaCivita said on X. “It’s time to hold them accountable, and the best way to do that is through the ballot box.”
LaCivita appeared to be referring to Biden’s recent comments to donors, in which he said “it’s time to target Trump.”
Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio, who spoke at the convention and was named as a finalist for Trump’s running mate, said the Biden team was portraying Trump as “an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs.”
“Those comments led directly to the assassination attempt on President Trump,” Vance added.
Other Republicans used those comments to criticize Biden.
Rep. Mike Collins shared Biden’s “spot-on” remarks about X, saying, “Joe Biden gave the order.”
Democrats have long accused Trump of inciting political violence, including by suggesting his supporters should treat protesters at rallies roughly and by encouraging the deadly mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in an attempt to stop the certification of Biden’s victory.
That message is now being directed at Trump’s opponents in the midst of a campaign that has seen a stunning series of events, from Trump’s 34 felony convictions to Biden’s disastrous debate performance to the most high-profile assassination attempt on a politician since a gunman shot President Ronald Reagan in 1981.
The situation is tense, with fears of further violence looming.
“This is not a normal election year, and this incident will only increase tensions in the United States,” said Jennifer Mercieca, a professor of communications and journalism at Texas A&M University and author of a book on Trump’s rhetoric. “The concern is that this act of violence will further deepen suspicion among Americans and spark further acts of violence.”
Amid the heated debate, some people across the political spectrum are calling for calm.
“We’ve got to turn down the temperature in this country,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said on the Today Show on Sunday.
“If we are to move forward and maintain the free society that we all enjoy, we need leaders of all parties on both sides of the aisle to make this case and make sure it gets done,” Johnson said.
Former Democratic Rep. Rick Boucher told USA Today that the shooting “should be a moment of national introspection about the level of vitriol that characterizes many political campaigns.”
“Some candidates and media outlets should take this opportunity to step back and think about how to express political disagreements in a more constructive and less intimidating way,” Boucher added.
“This kind of political violence deserves to be taken seriously, not just as a vulgar tool of aggression,” said Shannon Bowe O’Brien, a professor at the University of Texas who specializes in American politics, presidencies and political history.
But having come close to paying the ultimate price for his political activism, Trump has edged ever closer to martyr status, and the anger stoked by his ordeal is especially raw in the run-up to the convention.
Among the prominent speakers at the RNC was media personality Tucker Carlson, who predicted that someone would try to kill Trump.
“You start with criticism, then you go to protests, then impeachment, then indictments, and none of that works. What’s next? Draw a diagram. It’s clear we’re moving rapidly toward assassination,” Carlson said in an interview last year. “… They’ve decided, the Washington establishment, both parties, that there’s something about Trump that’s so threatening to them that they can’t let him off the hook.”
The convention, already expected to be an atmosphere of intense deference to Trump, could become even more emotional and tense for the former president, who rallied party members by appearing bloodied and defiant from the shooting. Even before he was hurriedly whisked off the stage on Saturday, Trump instinctively projected strength.
Surrounded by Secret Service officers, Trump pumped his fists and shouted, “Fight! Fight! Fight!”
Darren Samuelson contributed to this report.
