Mint Primer | Trump’s murder attempt: What it means for us

Donald Trump, the former US President and presumptive Republican candidate for the November 2024 presidential polls, was injured in an assassination attempt over the weekend. What are the implications for US politics and the world? Mint explains:

What do we know so far about the assassination attempt?

The shooter, 20-year-old Thomas Mathew Crooks, was a resident of a Pittsburgh suburb in Pennsylvania, where Trump was addressing a rally. He was shot dead by a Secret Service sniper. News reports say Crooks was a registered Republican. Video images showed Trump, with an ear injury and blood streaming down his face, punching the air in a gesture of defiance. The assassination bid is expected to underline Trump’s image as a politician who is a survivor. An investigation is ongoing but a key question is being asked: how was the shooter able to access a vantage point with a direct line of fire at Trump?

Also Read: From Abraham Lincoln to Donald Trump; List of Presidents, candidates who were assassinated or targeted

Aren’t such attempts common in the US?

Abraham Lincoln’s shooting in 1865 and John F. Kennedy’s in 1963 are famous. Two others killed in office are the 20th President, James Garfield (1881), and the 25th president, William McKinley (1901). In 1981, president Ronald Reagan was seriously wounded in an assassination attempt. Again, in 1933, president elect Franklin D. Roosevelt and in 1975 president Gerald Ford survived assassination attempts too. Representative Gabrielle Giffords, an Arizona Democrat, was severely injured in 2011 when a gunman opened fire outside a supermarket where Giffords was meeting with her constituents.

Also Read: 'Felt the bullet ripping through the skin,’ says 2024 US Presidential candidate

What has been the reaction to the attack?

President Joe Biden and former president Barack Obama led the denunciations saying violence has no place in US politics. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the leaders of Japan, Australia, Hungary, Italy, Brazil, France, Israel, Mexico, Philippines and South Korea, Germany and Austria are among international figures who expressed concern.

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What could be the impact of the attack on US politics?

The attack could deepen the polarization in US politics. For Trump, it is expected to boost his chances of winning the White House garnering sympathy votes and those of undecided voters. This comes as calls to Biden to step down from the presidential race over age and health concerns within the Democratic Party and outside grow louder. Trump is set to be endorsed as the official nominee at the four-day Republican National Convention beginning at Milwaukee in Wisconsin on Monday.

What is the impact of the assassination bid on the world?

The US presidential polls are one of the most consequential. The US is the world’s largest economy, its military still the strongest despite China emerging a strong challenger. Many countries still look to the US to provide global leadership. At a time of global economic turmoil due to the pandemic and two conflicts complicating global politics, any political instability in the US can only be a dangerous addition to the mix of uncertainties.

Elizabeth Roche is Associate Professor, OP Jindal Global University.