Donald Trump shooting: Will this be a turning point for American political discourse? - By Jon Sopel
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The attempted assassination of former President Trump has sparked unfounded conspiracy theories, but can the political class use this moment to make America finally cool its political climate?
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Predictably and depressingly, social media is awash with whole bucket loads of unfounded rubbish – some of it coming from the Trump lovers and some from the haters. Among the most far-fetched is the suggestion that the shooter was never aiming to kill Trump, he was merely aiming to graze and that the whole thing was a set-up from the Trump campaign – because look at the boost he’s getting from the bloody and unbowed image that is travelling the world, and is liklely to be the defining image of the next election.
Evidence for it? None. And if you consider it for a minute the improbability and impossibility strikes you. Shooting from that distance while Trump is moving on stage? The merest fraction of a degree would have resulted in his head being blown off, not a grazed ear.
But what about those on the other side that it was team Biden wanting to take out the man they feared most; or that it was diversionary tactics to move attention away from Biden’s age?
Just like with Lee Harvey Oswald, the assassin of JFK in 1963, the fact that the shooter has been killed means we will never be 100% sure of motive. And that uncertainty will be a rich spawning ground for the conspiracy minded – and in America, there are many who love to theorise on the basis of nothing resembling a fact.
The response to this awful event from so many has been just another manifestation of the toxicity and polarisation that cleaves at US society – divisions that have always been there but which became far worse during the Trump presidency, reaching its acme on January 6.
The fact is, that America has a long history of political violence, and though Joe Biden in his comments last night said this was something America had never seen before, of course it has. Four presidents have been assassinated over the life of the republic.
All of which makes a lowering of the political temperature even more essential. It is early days, but the signs are positive. Biden spoke to Trump last night, the speaker of the house Mike Johnson has made a call for everyone to tone the rhetoric down. Donald Trump has gone on Truth Social, his social media platform to say that it is more important than ever that America stands united, and his wife Melania has chimed in too.
These are good signs – but it is early days. The keyboard warriors want to stir things up when what is needed is calm. There are many bad actors in the US with loud voices. Political violence begetd political violence. America is a tinder box - and what the political class needs to do now is collectively come out with a fire hydrant, not cans of kerosene.
This is a dangerous and troubling moment.
Listen to the latest episode of The News Agents now: Trump shot: What does it mean for the election?
