"The closest call came in Butler, Pennsylvania, in 2024, when Donald Trump (then a candidate) had his head grazed by a bullet. Other apparent attempts include an incident at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, and possibly another that resulted in a Secret Service shooting at Mar-a-Lago in 2026. The latest would-be executioner, at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, was stopped long before he got anywhere near Trump."
"No figure on the left in a position of power comparable to that of the president has called for violence the way that Trump has-but the sentiment that he deserves to be killed is easy to find online. Imagining that assassinating a president would solve any kind of problem is delusional. Presidents are chosen by the electorate; their supporters and their politics do not disappear when they die."
"Thinking that you live in an action movie is also delusional. The wannabe assassin at the dinner showed up, allegedly, to kill the most protected man in the world with, The New York Times reported, " a shotgun, a handgun and knives." In real life, violence is not like in a video game. You do not have a health bar you can refill with pixelated roast turkeys. The man is lucky to be alive, and his chances of success were always near nonexistent."
"Thinking that an assassination would advance a political cause is likewise delusional. The only cause these attempted assaults have benefited is Trump's. His main preoccupation since the dinner has been justifying the illegal construction of his lavish ballroom. But on Thursday, he tried to leverage the horror with which Americans react to political violence to criminalize a political opponent-demanding that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries be prosecuted for "inciting"
A series of incidents involving attempts to kill the president includes a 2024 shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania, where a bullet grazed Donald Trump, and other reported threats connected to Trump locations. Another would-be attacker at the White House Correspondents' Dinner was stopped before reaching Trump. The repeated attempts are framed as symptoms of vigilante violence and online sentiments that suggest the president deserves to be killed. The belief that assassination would solve problems is described as delusional because presidents are elected and their supporters and politics persist after death. Violence is also portrayed as unlike action movies or video games, with near-nonexistent chances of success and real danger to the attacker and others. The text argues that these assaults mainly benefit Trump politically and are used to justify further legal and political actions.
Read at The Atlantic
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