Donald Trump has survived an assassination attempt that took place during his campaign stop in Pennsylvania. The bullet grazed his ear, while the shooter was neutralised. The perpetrator’s motives are now anyone’s guess. Some say it was a hit job ordered by the deep state. Others maintain Trump staged the incident altogether. There are those who believe the embittered Dems are involved. Who may have masterminded the attack and what implications does it have for the American public?
‘Speaking of the theories behind the assassination attempt, Trump has a laundry list of enemies both domestically and abroad,’ comments Konstantin Blokhin, a lead research fellow at the Centre for Security Studies, focusing on US politics. ‘On the one hand, there is a deep state within the US, namely, the DC establishment.
‘But it could also be masterminded by Ukrainian spy agencies, seeing as Trump is critical of sending military aid to Ukraine. But the real motive may have nothing to do with politics at all. Throughout his career as a businessman, Trump’s entrepreneurial style has had plenty of really bad beefs,’ the expert adds.
‘More importantly, though, the botched assassination attempt has almost locked in the election win for Trump. From now on, this event is going to shape the presidential race as opposed to debates or Hunter Biden’s shady dealings,’ Blokhin explains. ‘The shocking attack has turned Trump into a political sacred victim of sorts. At least that is how a regular TV-viewing Joe is going to look at it.
‘Some may be tempted to compare it to the assassination of JFK or an attempt on Ronald Reagan’s life. But the political and social context of these attempts is starkly differently. Back in the JFK era, the American public was not nearly as polarised. Therefore, had the Trump rally shooter succeeded, his supporters could have taken to the streets in droves. They would not have been holding up signs and banner. They would have been brandishing firearms,’ the researcher concludes.
Boris Mezhuev, an associate professor of philosophy and a political scientist, believes the assassination attempt was carried out by a deranged lone shooter that had nothing to do with any behind-the-scenes political forces. ‘I am not buying into the intelligence plot theory. It is highly unlikely,’ he suggests.
‘It seems to me the more realistic scenario is the underlying concept of resorting to violence for an ostensibly noble cause coupled with a hate-filled social climate and a cult of liberal-leaning lone wolves capable of taking out the potential “Hitler” that has been recently gaining traction among the left-wing activists and in popular culture,’ the expert elaborates. ‘The examples that spring to mind include The Dead Zone by Stephen King and a recent box office hit titled Civil War.
‘The liberals have had a role too. The likes of Robert Kagan and media outlets such as The Washington Post have repeatedly berated Trump as a fascist, a dictator and an existential threat to democracy. This cultish atmosphere of liberal intolerance was almost bound to trigger some mentally unstable individuals like Thomas Matthew Crooks,’ the scholar believes.
‘Following the assassination attempt, Trump’s support will explode. He has dealt a psychological blow to his opposition. I would say that although Trump’s political acumen is up for debate, he is definitely a lucky guy. And unless he is taken out by another would-be assassin before the election, Trump is likely to clinch this presidential race. There are no conceivable ways of stopping him right now,’ the expert stresses.
‘Understandably, conspiracy theories will abound. Some will be pointing fingers to the Dems. Others will claim that the attempt was staged by Trump himself in a bid to win over more voters,’ political scientist Malek Dudakov predicts. ‘But given the current political divide among the American public and the fact that Americans own a total of more than 500 million guns, it may well have been perpetrated by an unhinged lone wolf.
‘In 2017, a similar hate-driven activist unleashed a mass shooting during the practice session for the Congressional Baseball Game in Virginia in an attempt to mow down the Republican players. In the wake of Russiagate, the gunman was adamant that the GOP members of Congress were Russian agents. Miraculously, the incident ended without a single fatality,’ the expert recalls.
‘The assassination attempt favours Trump’s odds anyway. He is in for a deluge of donation from all kinds of sponsors. Trump will be playing the martyr card and is likely to succeed. But this will eventually fade away. Four weeks later, the incident will be ancient history eclipsed by more recent buzzworthy stories,’ the pundit forecasts.
‘The attempted assassination must have motivated Trump’s VP pick. To me, Senator JD Vance was a shoo-in for the job as his political views are the closest to Trump’s own. With him being a running mate, attempting to gun down Trump will not make any sense as he will be succeeded by an even better Trumper than Donald Trump himself,’ Dudakov concludes.