Violence, instability at forefront of US politics: The Guardian
5 Min Read
David Smith argues that the recent assassination attempt on Donald Trump in Pennsylvania highlights a dangerous normalization of political violence in the US.
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Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surrounded by the US Secret Service at a campaign event in Butler, Pa., on Saturday, July 13, 2024. (AP)
Donald Trump's recent assassination attempt in Pennsylvania should not be held to memory for partisan reasons but rather for its resurfacing of a country with a lengthy history of political violence prepared for what has been labeled "a tinderbox election," David Smith says.
On Sunday, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump escaped unharmed after what the FBI described as an apparent assassination attempt while he was golfing at his West Palm Beach Florida course.
In an analysis piece in The Guardian, Smith writes that violence and uncertainty have become a feature rather than a fault in US political life. A white nationalist march in Charlottesville, Virginia, resulted in the murder of a civil rights activist. On January 6, 2021, a furious crowd of Trump supporters stormed the United States Capitol. A hammer attack on former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband, Paul, at their home. Numerous threats of violence against members of Congress and judges also took place.
A new documentary video, The Last Republican, shows frightening voicemails left for former Congressman Adam Kinzinger, a Trump opponent who served on the House January 6 committee where he is threatened with a home invasion.
False assertions that Haitian immigrants are eating cats and dogs in Springfield, Ohio, have resulted in bomb threats and school closures.
Smith contends that this transcends party lines and recalls how in 2017, a shooter with anti-Republican beliefs opened fire on a practice session for the annual congressional baseball game, wounding five people, including House majority whip Steve Scalise. According to a University of Chicago study done in late June, more Americans advocate violence against Trump (10%) than violence for Trump (6.9%).
At his rallies, Trump supported strong-arm methods against protesters. He ridiculed Pelosi for the hammer strike, suggested shoplifters be shot and rebellious generals be hanged for treason. He predicted a "bloodbath" if he was not elected and stated that illegal immigrants were "poisoning" American blood.
With Republicans focusing on "election integrity" operations, poll workers may encounter unacceptable levels of violence and intimidation. Opinion surveys indicate that the election will be quite close, providing enough opportunity to sow doubt, which will most certainly be fueled by Elon Musk's X social media platform.
According to Axios, “A perfect storm has been brewing for years now – fueled by extreme polarization, election denial, political violence, historic prosecutions, and rampant disinformation. Mayhem is bound to rain down in November.”
A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted in May revealed that more than two-thirds of Americans are frightened about extremist violence following the election. Patrick Gaspard, a former White House official, warned reporters in Chicago last month that if Harris wins by a slim margin in the electoral college, the United States fears "multiple January 6th-like incidents" in state capitols.
Biden and Harris condemned both attempts and expressed relief that Trump was safe, but Smith accuses Trump of contaminating the political climate and established a permission system for violence.
'We live in danger times,' Secret Service on attempt on Trump
"We live in danger times," a US Secret Service spokesperson said in a news conference after an apparent "attempted assassination" on former president Donald Trump on Sunday.
Ric Bradshaw, Palm Beach county sheriff, stated at the conference that since Trump is not the sitting president, the federal agency was "limited" to "the areas that the Secret Service deems possible."
"The golf course is surrounded by shrubbery, so when somebody gets into the shrubbery, they're pretty much out of sight," Bradshaw said, emphasizing that if Trump was the current president then the entire golf course area would have been surrounded by Secret Service agents.
"Secret Service did exactly what they should have done," he added.
Both The New York Times and Fox News identified the suspect as 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh from Hawaii, though Reuters was unable to verify these claims independently.
The 58-year-old's prior beliefs and political involvement are now being investigated for clues as to potential motivation in any attack on Trump.
Routh told the Financial Times in an interview last year, speaking from Hawaii, that he was turned away by the Ukrainian International Legion headquarters when he arrived at the Polish border town of Medyka.
"They said 'You're 56, you're old, and you have no experience'," he stated. "So why don't you recruit and co-ordinate?"
After his rejection, Routh, traveled to Kiev "to coordinate volunteers," pitching a tent on Maidan Square.
