After Saturday’s horrific assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, which left one innocent bystander dead and two others seriously injured, the United States is palpably on edge. Republicans believe the long war against their standard-bearer has entered a new, more violent phase, while Democrats fear that a bold Trump will channel public sympathy into victory and that his followers will seek revenge at a time when they see fit. But while we can’t predict the shape of the fallout, much depends on whether the heightened tensions in Washington lead political elites to throw kerosene on the fire or try to put it out.
Leading Democrats immediately issued similar statements intended to communicate their lack of interest in further escalation and their commitment to the peaceful resolution of political differences. That tone began with beleaguered President Joe Biden saying that “there is no place for this kind of violence in America. We must unite as one nation to condemn it.” In an address to the nation on Sunday night, the president said, “Unity is the most elusive goal of all. But nothing is more important than that right now.” Would he want his post-debate comment to donors that “it’s time to put Trump in our sights” back? I’m sure he would, and frankly it would help if he apologized, even if the comment was unfairly taken out of context.
But unlike the legions of Republicans who downplayed or tried to explain away the attempted assassination of Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul, in 2022 with conspiracy theories, Democrats from top to bottom responded with a level head. Vice President Kamala Harris said, “We are praying for him, his family, and all those injured and impacted by this senseless shooting… We must all condemn this heinous act and do our part to ensure it does not lead to more violence.” No House Democratic backbencher joked about how they wished the shooter had had better aim or anything like that.
BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images
Not so much on the other side. While House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) initially said that “It’s time to tone down the rhetoric,” he said, refraining from blaming anyone on the left for the still-motiveless act of a single 20-year-old, later pointing the finger at Democrats. “When the message is constantly going out that the election of Donald Trump is a threat to democracy and that the republic is coming to an end, I mean it inflames the atmosphere,” he said on NBC’s Today.
Others in the GOP were quicker to blame Democrats. Trump’s presumed running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), argued that Biden’s rhetoric about democracy “led directly to the attempted assassination of President Trump.” Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) went to X to say that “the Republican district attorney in Butler County, PA, should immediately bring charges against Joseph R. Biden for incitement to murder.” Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) wrote, “They tried to impeach him. They’re trying to imprison him. Now they’ve tried to kill him.” Gaetz didn’t specify who “they” were, which was helpful since the shooter, despite making a small donation to a progressive political group in 2021, was a registered Republican who, according to classmates, wasn’t clearly political and who may have taken his motive to the grave, just like the Las Vegas shooter in 2017.
Which means that the attempt to blame Democrats for this is ridiculous, and very much in keeping with the GOP’s poor approach to politics for the past generation. It is not the responsibility of Democrats to quiet their criticism of Trump’s prolific threats against the democratic establishment. Democrats did not force him to say he would order investigations into his political rivals. They did not force him to use the Insurrection Act to cling to power after losing the 2020 election. They did not force him to whip his heavily armed minions into a frenzy of retribution and then watch for hours as they rampaged through the U.S. Capitol, some hunting down members of Congress, others posing for photos. They did not force him to convince millions of ordinary Republicans to believe the hallucination that the election had been stolen.
What exactly are people supposed to make of his insane claim that he’ll be a dictator on day one of his presidency, but then be normal? That he wants to suspend the U.S. Constitution? That he’ll “exterminate” his political enemies on the left “like vermin”? That, just like he did in 2016 and 2020, he refuses to accept the legitimacy of an election he doesn’t win? He literally just did this on national television.
There is no contradiction in believing that a politician is an existential threat to democracy and not wanting that person to be killed. I am as enmeshed in progressive social networks as anyone, and everyone I know was shocked. Everyone. There were no texts flying back and forth saying, “This is great, I love this. More attempted murders, please.” Instead, there was an almost immediate recognition of the gravity of the situation — not just that Trump could benefit from the halo effect of dodging the bullet, but that if political figures were to start falling to gunfire, our political situation would become even more dire than it already is. And it’s already pretty dire.
It’s been a generation since anyone has experienced the unique terror of a gunman targeting a president or former president. And the attempt on Trump’s life comes at a particularly inopportune time in American life. After decades of deepening partisan polarization, too many Americans on both sides of the aisle believe that violence against political opponents can sometimes be justified. Record numbers of Americans say democracy isn’t working. Democrats and Republicans alike believe the other side is out to destroy the country. The tectonic plates of mistrust and anger are inches away from erupting. This is the last thing we needed.
That means that in many ways our short-term fate rests in the hands of the would-be assassin’s target, the 45th president now trying to become the 47th. If he and his party can call for calm and perhaps even take some responsibility for the atmosphere of terror and tension that he himself helped create at this week’s convention, they would help both Trump’s campaign and the country.
David Faris is an associate professor of political science at Roosevelt University and author of It’s time for a dirty fight: How Democrats can build a lasting majority in American politics. His writings have appeared in The week, The Washington Post, The New Republic, Washington Monthly and more. Find him on Twitter @davidmfaris.
The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
