In this extract from today’s edition of The Bulletin by Stewart Sowman-Lund: the day the US presidential race changed forever. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here.
Yesterday started off as any normal Sunday, but will now forever be remembered as the day that an attempt was made to kill Donald Trump. This piece on The Guardian breaks down the key events of July 13 (US time) and includes footage of the dramatic moment Trump was pulled off stage by the secret service, appearing to mouth the words “fight, fight” while pumping his fist into the air, blood running down his right cheek. The photos of the alleged assassination effort were quickly shared around the world, upending the already contentious race for the White House. It’s the first attempted assassination on a US president in more than 40 years. At least one attendee of Trump’s rally was killed and two were left seriously injured, while the gunman, identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, was killed by law enforcement.
Politicians unify in condemnation
The attack has seen lawmakers around the world unify in their condemnation of political violence. In the US, president Joe Biden, who has been under pressure from members of his own party to step aside from the presidential contest, spoke to Trump by phone. Earlier, Biden told reporters there was no place in America for violence like this. “It’s sick, it’s sick,” he said. “It’s one of the reasons why we have to unite this country.” Speaking today, Biden reiterated this call, saying “nothing is more important” than unity at this point. The shooting has seen efforts to replace Biden as the Democratic candidate for president put on pause, reported NBC, while the Biden campaign has stopped television ads attacking Trump.
Closer to home, New Zealand’s prime minister Christopher Luxon, who has just been in the United States, condemned the attack. “No country should encounter such political violence.” With Luxon on personal leave this week, the acting prime minister David Seymour said that “non-violence” was essential to democracy, sentiments echoed by others like foreign minister Winston Peters and Labour’s Chris Hipkins.
Trump supporters rally behind former president
While the immediate aftermath of the attack was centred around how the gunman was able to pull off his attack, and how serious the former president’s injuries were, discussion now turns to what it could mean for the US presidential election in November. Everything has changed, the Daily Telegraph’s Tony Diver wrote in this piece republished by the Herald. “The attempt on Trump’s life is a stark reminder of how a single, groundbreaking, moment can upend an already tempestuous campaign.” The Post’s Luke Malpass makes a similar argument this morning, noting that Trump will be emboldened by this attack and capable of engineering it to his political advantage.
It’s not just commentators making these claims. This report from Politico suggests that some Republicans view the attack as giving Trump a leg up for the presidency. “This will energise the base more than anything,” said one Republican congressman. Photos of the former president cover newspaper front pages around the globe. The image of Trump, fist raised in defiance, is an “indelible portrait of our era of political crisis and conflict”, writes Benjamin Wallace-Wells for the New Yorker. It’s in many ways akin to the president’s mug shot from last year. Both are shocking in distinct ways, and both may see fans of the former president rally behind him with greater intensity. This report from the Washington Post earlier in the year looks at how the image of Trump’s scowl as he was indicted became a powerful image for his supporters, even being printed on merchandise.
Attack symbolises a peak in political tension
The moment Donald Trump was shot feels like it will be one of those events that you forever remember where you were when you found out. But should any of us be surprised that the political temperature in the United States hit this dramatic boiling point? RNZ’s Tim Watkins argued no, writing that while it’s inarguably a shocking moment, “we reap what we sow and the bitter division and cynicism apparent in America’s public debate has been all too obvious for some time”. Even as politicians from across the spectrum unanimously condemn the attack on Trump, some have decided now is the moment to blame Biden, reports the New York Magazine. One Republican, Mike Collins of Georgia, outright accused the incumbent president of sending “the orders”. It illustrates the divided time we live in.
We’ve seen flickers of that polarisation here in New Zealand too, like in the fiery scenes outside parliament during the 2022 occupation or the horrific abuse and imported conspiracy theories targeted at some of our political leaders. But even in those moments, New Zealand avoided gun violence. The alleged shooter in the US reportedly used an AR-style semi-automatic rifle. They were outlawed here in the wake of the 2019 Christchurch terror attack, but some could return to gun ranges under the coalition government. The attempted assassination of a former president should be an opportunity to try and bridge any political rifts, but perhaps it threatens to tear them wide open as we head towards November 5. Trump’s initial response to the attempt on his life was posted on social media platform Truth Social, in calm and concerned language – whether he remains that way as he returns to the campaign trail, we’ll soon find out.