An Unalterable Moment In Time
A 20-year-old man tried to assassinate Donald Trump eight hours ago and quite nearly succeeded. How we got here is the only question worth answering.
It would be dishonest to say that the above photo will not live on in our memories forever. It might be because you’re a supporter of Donald Trump, convicted felon, 45th President of the United States, and wannabe dictator (although it’s unlikely you’re reading this if you are). It might be because you, like many, believe that somehow it was staged by Trump to rally support behind him right before the Republican National Convention—a conclusion hard to square with the dead shooter, dead spectator, and two critically wounded people carried off.
We know at this point the shooter’s identity—Thomas Michael Crooks, 20, from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. We know he inexplicably got within 150 yards of the stage on an industrial rooftop, laid down, and fired off eight rounds, coming within inches of hitting Donald Trump in the eye and murdering him in front of the world. We know that Trump grabbed at his ear, went down, and then came back up, fighting Secret Service agents to pump his fist and yell, “Fight!” We know he was then taken off stage and driven right out of town while a number of his angered supporters tried to assault the media covering the rally, blaming them for causing it. We know that Republicans in Congress veered in reactions from normal (the thoughts and prayers type) to kiss-ass (Marco Rubio, desperate to becone the VP nominee and leave the Senate, proclaimed God protected Donald Trump, which is remarkably cruel towards those who died or lie in critical condition) to the absurd (Mike Collins, R-GA, who declared that Joe Biden ordered the shooting and demanded his arrest; JD Vance, another VP wannabe, said this is the result of calling Trump a fascist).
We know that Democrats were remarkably gracious towards Trump and his family, including Nancy Pelosi, whose husband was nearly bludgeoned to death by a fanatical Trump supporter in an attempted murder that Trump himself repeatedly made light of; Barack Obama, whom Trump attacked with thinly-veiled racism for years, also did the same. President Biden’s team scrambled to take down all anti-Trump ads from the airwaves scheduled to run during the RNC this coming week. The decency of Democrats in the moment was honorable, but they should not forget, in the days to follow, to answer the question of how we got here, and to do so publicly and loudly.
Violence has swirled around Donald Trump since his first run for office in 2016. Violence in the seats between protestors and supporters. Violent rhetoric from Trump about how to handle protestors. Fights outside of his events. The formation of Patriot Front and Proud Boys and other neo-fascist groups utterly loyal to Trump and his platform who spent his administration brawling in the streets with anti-fascist groups. The use of violence on peaceful protestors outside the White House in June 2020 after the murder of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis, violence ordered by Donald Trump while president. Of course, last but not least, the January 6th, 2021 insurrection and attempted coup whipped up by Trump. It has been part and parcel of what he stands for and believes in.
His supporters will reach a new level of frenzy over the events portrayed in this photo. They will be convinced Donald Trump is the chosen one, and should he lose this election, there will absolutely be more violence, on a scale far worse than January 6th. If he wins this election, they will point to this moment and proclaim it the reason why. His opponents will mark this day as a convenient Reichstag Fire moment through planning or incredible serendipity (the identity of the shooter being a registered Republican voter is quite a wild card, to say the least), leading to an inevitable civil war regardless of the outcome in November. The pleas of politicians hoping that this moment unites us were futile before they were even uttered—all that I’ve seen and heard today (I was at a graduation party, where a just-retired Secret Service agent was a guest, go figure) reinforces my instinct that divisions are so set in stone that nothing will bridge them.
It’s therefore left to the people in the middle, however many or few that there are, to determine the outcome. Will we hurtle over the edge into an ever-escalating cycle of political violence, or will we take the lesson to heart—violence does not discriminate, and a world in which it becomes acceptably part of our politics is a world where we will be consumed by violence and our democracy will cease to exist. That is why it is essential that Democrats and any non-Trump Republicans make this clear throughout the weeks to come. Today would not have happened without the introduction of violence by Donald Trump as an acceptable response to opposition, and just as it doubled back on him, so will it double back on anyone else who chooses to utilize it. We must avoid the darkness at all costs.
Well said. Gave me room to breathe. Thank you.
An honest assessment. Thank you