When I heard that Donald Trump was nearly shot at a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday, my first thought was, “I pray to God he’s okay.”
I think so for the normal reason that we humans want to see other humans not harmed.
But with Donald Trump, there was a different reason.
Trump has made his paranoid martyrdom a pillar of his campaign, and I did not want to add fuel to the fire for his dangerous message.
It is disrespectful to speak ill of the man who could have lost his life today, but remember there was an implicit undertone of violence in the messages Trump sent to his supporters throughout this election: He said America was divided between his supporters and “domestic enemies” who were out to destroy both him and his supporters.
On June 24, 2023, after the second indictment, he Said His followers:
“They’re not after me. They’re after you. And I just happen to be in their way.”
President Trump’s first rally of the 2024 presidential campaign, held in Waco, Texas on March 25, opened with a choir of men imprisoned in the January 6 riot singing “Justice for All.” The national anthem was played during a segment in which President Trump recited the Pledge of Allegiance with his hand on his heart. Footage of the storming of the Capitol was projected on a large screen behind him.
Trump then repeated his false claims that the 2020 presidential election was “rigged,” declaring:
“Our enemies have tried so hard to stop us, they have done everything they can to crush our spirit, break our will. But they have failed. They have only made us stronger. And 2024 will be the final battle, and it will be a big one.” Put me back in the White House and their rule will end, and America will be a free country again.”
He conspired against himself and, consequently, against his supporters.
“In 2016 I declared: I am your voice. Today I add: I am your warrior. I am your justice. And to those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution.”
After Saturday’s assassination attempt, we can expect more similar delusional martyrdoms by Trump.
Today is not the time to dwell on the direct and disturbing link between Trump’s political rise and the increase in political violence and the threat of such violence in the United States.
Recorded by Capitol Police in 2016 Fewer than 900 threats Assaults against members of Congress more than quadrupled in 2017 after Trump took office, according to Capitol Police. They continued to rise every year under Trump, peaking at 9,700 in 2021. In 2022, Biden’s first year in office, the number fell to a still-high 7,500. (Data for 2023 is not yet available.)
I have much more to say on this topic, but for now, please join me in doing all you can to reduce the hostility and anger that permeates American politics.
And let’s pray that Trump, Biden, and all those running for political office, and all Americans involved in politics, will come free from harm.
