An attempt was made on the life of the leading candidate for President of the United States at a Pennsylvania campaign rally yesterday. Former President Trump escaped with seemingly minor injuries, a bullet having grazed his ear. The shooter was killed by the Secret Service and little information about him is publicly available. One bystander was killed at the scene and two others were seriously wounded.
President Biden and other American and world leaders are rightly condemning the violence. Even granting the unique circumstances in light of Trump’s role in instigating the Capitol Riot of January 6, 2020 in an attempt to steal an election Biden won, violence can have no place in the domestic politics of a democratic polity. While I would strongly prefer Biden (or any non-Trump candidate) be President come next January 20, the American people, not a lone gunman, have the right to make that decision.
I haven’t the foggiest how or whether this will impact the election. In the short run, the combination of public sympathy for Trump and admiration for his defiant reaction in the moment will likely buoy him in the polls. It will also further highlight that, while both men are unusually old for such a demanding job, Trump is more physically vigorous even despite his obesity. In the longer run, given rabid partisanship and the degree to which public opinion on these two men is entrenched, I suspect the impact will be marginal.
Reportedly, the shooter used an AR-15 variant and got off eight shots. One presumes this will, yet again, ignite another round of debate on gun control that will yield very little. And it will certainly raise questions about the competence of the Secret Service.
As is always the case when there is a politically involved shooting, there will be finger-pointing about the rhetoric of our politics. From my vantage point, it’s pretty obvious that the main culprit in the coarsening of our political debate over the last three decades or so is from Trump’s side of the aisle. But it’s certainly the case that the rhetoric on the other side has gotten more heated, whether simply in response or in outright anger over policy disputes that are intensely personal in impact.
Regardless, while I believe the tone of the front page has remained civil, I’ll be more careful in choosing my words as this heated campaign progresses. And I’ll be more vigilant in policing a comment section that has gotten more heated and less civil. In particular, name-calling, whether of the candidates or other commenters, is beneath the level of discourse for which we’re aiming here.
