Originally Published in The Messenger
After the near-death experience President Donald Trump (R-FL) had at his July rally in Pennsylvania, the world was shocked. Elected officials, talking heads, and voters on both sides of the aisle were quick to condemn the unprecedented act of political violence that has not been since the attempt on Ronald Reagan’s (R-CA) life in 1981. All were quick to call for the “temperature to be turned down,” regarding rhetoric surrounding the highly contentious 2024 election.
It seemed that the social unrest had hit a fever pitch. The attempt on Trump’s life communicated to all Americans, regardless of party registration, that this is simply not the path our country should take, nor is it a reflection of our core values and the desires of the general population. Moreover, it sets a horrible precedent that communicates to our enemies that we are unstable and ungovernable. Should the United States descend into a state of violence, something we hope and pray is avoided, it would only blacklist the country on the world stage. Who would want to do business with a country on the brink of civil war where political violence is the unfortunate new normal?
That’s why we were just as shocked as anyone else to see yet another attempt on Trump’s life over the weekend. A quiet, peaceful Sunday afternoon turned into another high-anxiety episode in the increasingly-contentious saga of modern American politics. Thankfully, Secret Service identified a rifle barrel protruding from the bushes while Trump was playing the fifth hole at his resort in Palm Beach. After firing a round of shots at the bush, the perpetrator dropped his weapon and fled the scene, leaving behind the AK-style rifle, two backpacks, a spotting scope, and a GoPro camera.
He was apprehended in neighboring Martin County and a deep-dive shows his criminal record dating back nearly twenty years.
Regardless of the suspect’s record, online political discourse, and apparent frequent donations to ActBlue, the fact is that Trump was spared yet a second time. The split-second, almost unconscious reaction to turn his head towards the megatron in Pennsylvania saved his life. Yet again, a split-second reaction from Secret Service seems to have saved it again.
God unquestionably has His hand over Donald Trump, and true to Trump’s oft-repeated phrase “never give up,” he clearly shows no signs of relenting on the campaign trail. But it serves as a stark reminder just how close we are to being so far gone, down the path of nearly no return, at least not for years should the U.S. decide that chaos and unprecedented violence is the answer.
We’ll echo the same point we made after the first assassination attempt: what do you expect when you compare someone to Adolf Hitler for almost ten years? We place the blame on the mainstream media for feeding into the political divisions in our country and even creating, in some cases, the propaganda that fuels the concerns of individuals who see such discourse as a call to action, rather than political disagreements.
We’ll also point out the irony of the whole situation: the same people who have called him a dictator and an existential threat to a democracy – even though we’re more a constitutional republic – are now wishing him well and saying there’s no place for such violence in this country.
Thankfully, blood wasn’t spilled on either occasion – save for the blood that dripped from Trump’s ear in Pennsylvania – but blood is effectively on the hands of the mainstream media and certain politicians who have called Trump a “dictator” and have urged the public to take matters into their own hands.
We also commend the president for his resilience. We know that if anyone else had survived not one, but two assassination attempts in just two months, that person likely would make themselves as scarce and hard-to-find as possible.
Trump, on the other hand, never seems to give up and never seems interested in surrendering. That should tell the electorate something very important about who he is and where his priorities lie. Some say that, if elected, he’ll start World War III, impoverish the country, and take everyone’s rights away. He was already president and none of those things happened. He’s clearly not running to implement those changes, and if he was hell-bent on serving himself, he’d certainly do himself a service and quit the race the first time a bullet grazed his ear.
It’s a sad time in American politics, but it’s never a sad time to be an American. Our resilience, compassion, and strive for greatness has known no bounds since we began as the Thirteen Colonies, and we’re optimistic that we won’t lose those qualities any time soon.