The assassination attempt on Trump

I'm not sure that I have much of anything meaningful to say about the apparent assassination attempt on convicted felon and insurrectionist Donald Trump.

The safe thing to say is what former President Obama said:

Biden’s account carries this statement:

And I wouldn’t criticize either of them for those careful responses.

But Trump has constructed a public persona for himself as something like a gleeful sociopath. We should certainly not forget the way Trump himself mocked Nancy Pelosi’s husband Paul Pelosi when he was hit in the head by a late-night attacker in their home.

And he not only incited the January 6 attack on the Capitol as a result of which several people died and others were wounded. But he incites violate hatred in his hateful portrayal of immigrants and with comments like, "We pledge to you that we will root out the communists, Marxists, fascists, and the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country." (1)

There is no single more influential promoter of domestic political violence right now than Donald Trump.

Annika Brockschmidt notes that how Trump will encourage his fans to see the assassination attempt:

No one knows at the moment how the assassination attempt will affect the election. Anyone who posts the picture with Trump raising his fist to the sky next to, e.g., the Iwo Jima flag picture is not conducting a political analysis, but is actively working towards mythologization. (2)

Vienna’s Der Standard reports:

"The image of Trump immediately after the assassination attempt with his fist raised in front of the US flag sums up everything he stands for in the eyes of his supporters: A fighter who is being attacked from all sides and does not let himself be defeated in the most adverse situations," says Christoph Hofinger, head of the Foresight Institute in Vienna, to the Standard. "And for whom, even in such exceptional situations, the emotional connection to his supporters is the most important thing."

"The surge of emotionalization among Trump activists can give him the decisive percentage points in the contested swing states – including Pennsylvania, where the assassination occurred," says the expert on the importance of emotions, framing and storytelling in public communication. The Democrats around Joe Biden now face an even greater dilemma, as in "uncertain, turbulent times, candidates who are hardly known and still have little authority (...) would seem out of place". A possible change of candidate instead of the decrepit Joe Biden will be "much less likely," Hofinger said. The summary: "Since last night, a Trump presidency has become much more likely." (3)

And while the Republicans use this shooting as a way to magnify the ridiculous martyr role they give to Trump, it’s hard not to recall the consistently callous attitude Republicans take toward school shootings.

Speaking of which, the ammosexuals who defend the unlimited right of guns to proliferate have turned the phrase “thoughts and prayers” after mass murders in schools into a cynical euphemism for, “I don’t give a ****.”

So I wonder if the Hungarian President or his social media handlers were aware of that when this was posted: “In a social media post, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban wrote: ‘My thoughts and prayers are with President @realDonaldTrump in these dark hours’.” (4)

Weirdly enough, Trump thanked his supporters for using that phrase!

Donald Trump has thanked his supporters for their "thoughts and prayers" in his second public comments since the attempt on his life yesterday.

"It was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening. We will FEAR NOT, but instead remain resilient in our Faith and Defiant in the face of Wickedness," the former president wrote in a post on Truth Social. (5)

Notes:

(1) Kurtzleben, Danielle (2023): Why Trump's authoritarian language about 'vermin' matters. NPR 11/17/2023. <https://www.npr.org/2023/11/17/1213746885/trump-vermin-hitler-immigration-authoritarian-republican-primary> (Accessed: 07/10/2024).

(2) Brockschmidt, Annika (2024): X/Twitter 07/14/2024. <https://x.com/ardenthistorian/status/1812420916229329076> (Accessed: 07/10/2024). My translation from German.

(3) Wie der Attentatsversuch auf Trump den US-Wahlkampf beeinflussen könnte. Der Standard 07/14/2024. https://www.derstandard.de/story/3000000228321/wie-der-mordversuch-auf-trump-den-us-wahlkampf-beeinflussen-koennte> (Accessed: 07/10/2024).

(4) Khalil, Hafsa (2024): World leaders condemn attack on Trump. BBC News 07/17/2024. <https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cljy6yz1j6gt?post=asset%3Ad1342967-4265-4809-851a-3e535cdbe5a6#post> (Accessed: 07/10/2024).

(5) Trump thanks God for preventing 'unthinkable'. BBC News 07/14/2024. <https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cljy6yz1j6gt?post=asset%3Ad1342967-4265-4809-851a-3e535cdbe5a6#post> (Accessed: 07/10/2024).