The image of a bloodied but defiant and provocative Donald Trump brandishing his fist belligerently at a crowd in Pennsylvania – while his lips appear to form the word “fight” against an American flag under a sun – will go straight into the books history as one of those era-defining moments (look the images underneath). The assassination attempt on the former US president at yesterday’s rally upends an already volatile and unpredictable campaign, permeated by highly charged rhetoric and radical views. It also appears to be irrevocably shifting the political landscape in Trump’s favor ahead of the November election.
Not only did he survive the gunshot wound to the ear – and is now recuperating on his golf course in New Jersey – but the narrative he’s built over the years about how everyone wanted him dead was suddenly validated when minutes into his speech a determined killer opened fire on the 78-year-old Republican presidential candidate.
For the legions of devotees of President Trump’s MAGA – “Make America Great Again” movement, this fact makes him as an ultimate survivor even more of a witness to a great cause. Characteristically, one of his colleagues in the Republican party – GOP (Grand Old Party) called him unstoppable. In his election campaign, he sent a simple and direct fundraising text message from the start, stating: “I will never give up!”
Democrats, meanwhile, are in a state of confusion as President Joe Biden, 81, stubbornly remains the candidate even as doubts about his age and mental acuity have dogged him for weeks, with constant calls for him to step aside.
Now it has …. thrown out of the headlines – but even less, if anything, has he lost control of the facts. And this is deeply troubling for Western bourgeois liberal “Democracies” who look to the leader of the free world, namely the US, for apparent order and clarity.
Conversely, the rest of the world is also experiencing the polarization of politics and what can happen in a deeply divided society when political discourse is full of hard truths, exaggerations, and even lies that are then amplified through social media.
From Asia to Europe to South America, recent years have seen assassination attempts against a number of top political leaders, literally…. in the light of day.
In May, Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fitso — a patriotic Trump-style populist leader — was shot four times at close range by a “lone wolf.” He survived and immediately used the assassination attempt to intensify his attacks on the media, prosecutors and the opposition. If nothing else, it’s about … political retaliation against his enemies.
And as for all that could happen in the US, we have to look back to 2018 for a …. “eerie” precedent with former Brazilian President Jair Mesía Bolsonaro, a powerful political figure who is almost a Latin American version of Trump (please read the analysis titled “Trump, Fitso, Orban, Abe, Bolsonaro & Lee Jae Myung: Leaders Against ‘Woke’ Culture Targeted in Every Way“).
This far-right leader was stabbed in the stomach at a campaign rally a month before the election. It was a defining moment that ignited his base and propelled him to power.
In a post on X, Bolsonaro – a staunch Trump supporter – told him “see you on inauguration day”.
The seconds after the attempt on Trump’s life were characterized by more confusion than reasonable chaos. He was among a sea of MAGA supporters at the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania – one of six swing states in the election. People were in disbelief, others “froze” at the murderous attack. By the time people realized what had happened, Trump had left the stage.
Who was the prospective killer?
The FBI identified the male suspect as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania (about an hour’s drive from the crime scene). He was killed on the spot after firing from an “elevated position” at the outdoor gathering. The incident is being treated as attempted murder and a motive has yet to be determined. The New York Times noted that he was registered …. Republican and had no prior criminal record. Federal campaign finance records also show he donated $15 to the Progressive Turnout Project, which aims to mobilize Democratic voters, in January 2021.
From Abraham Lincoln to John F. Kennedy, the assassination of a sitting US president has shaped US history. Trump is not in power, nor is he badly hurt. However, you have to go back four decades to find anything comparable. This is when John Hinckley, who had … “hooked up” with actress Jodie Foster after seeing her in the famous movie “Taxi Driver” shot Ronald Reagan in his first term outside the Hilton Hotel in Washington.
After the latest attempt, world political leaders responded with an outcry, widely condemning political violence and wishing Trump a speedy recovery. The billionaire tycoon may be an extreme, provocatively divisive figure to some, but the leaders of the Group of Seven – who would clearly prefer not to see him reinstated as President in the Oval Office – have made clear their dismay at what the ongoing attempt means and where could lead. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called the attack “despicable” and French President Emmanuel Macron described it as a “tragedy for democracies”.
This is the first assassination attempt on a US presidential candidate unfolding in real time under the spotlight of social media. Just seconds after the injured Trump left the stage, the posts were made… infinite – as was the disinformation with several unsubstantiated claims about the event swirling on Elon Musk’s X, along with Telegram and Gab.
The Republican National Convention is finalizing Trump’s crowning as the official Republican nominee. Huge cult of personality around the former president.
Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, posted a message on X that said: “I fully support President Trump and hope for his speedy recovery.” Musk made a huge donation to a “political action super committee” working to elect Trump to the White House. Although it is not clear how much money he has given, they described the amount as particularly large.
There is little precedent for events like these in Pennsylvania. When Reagan was shot four decades ago, the stock market plunged before closing prematurely. The next day, March 31, 1981, the S&P500 rose more than 1%.
And finally, there has been a spate of violence against political leaders around the world in recent years, most tragically the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in July 2022. Although Japan has strict gun control laws, A gunman used an improvised weapon to shoot Abe twice at a campaign event, targeting the high-profile Japanese leader because of his ties to a church the suspect said had bankrupted his family by soliciting excessive donations.
Just a few months later, in Pakistan, Imran Khan was shot in the leg at a public event. The cricket star and former prime minister continues to be a divisive figure in the country’s Muslim majority. In January this year, South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung was stabbed in the neck while speaking to reporters at a public appearance. He is considered a leading candidate in the run-up to the next presidential election in 2027. And more recently, Slovakian Prime Minister Fitso was seriously injured while speaking to a crowd in a town square.
