Trump’s second assassination attempt shows how vulnerable the election season in the United States is, writes ‘s US correspondent Iida Tikka.
WASHINGTON. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump survived another assassination attempt on Sunday.
On Sunday, Trump was golfing at his own golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, when an agent of the security service FBI noticed an armed man in the middle of the golf course and shot at him. The man tried to escape, but he was quickly caught with the help of eyewitness observations.
The arrested person was 58 years old, and he has not yet given a statement about his motives to the police.
Trump was not injured in the situation and is safe.
– I am even more determined after the second assassination attempt! I never slow down. I never give up. I will NEVER GIVE UP, Trump wrote in an email to his supporters and donors shortly after the incident.
Although Trump – and the entire American people – escaped with a scare again, Sunday’s events underscore how volatile the election season in the United States is going. The threat of political violence has now materialized twice.
But why was Trump targeted again?and how will the events affect the elections?
Trump is an exceptionally divisive figure in American politics, who many Americans either admire or hate with a passion.
Attempted assassination Ryan Wesley Routh belonged to the latter group. Based on his social media, Routh seems to have been particularly concerned about the future of democracy if Trump wins.
In addition, the FBI has long been concerned about Trump’s safety during both outdoor campaign events and rounds of golf.
The biggest questions on Sunday evening were how the shooter had gotten to the golf course and knew when to be there. Despite the fact that after the assassination attempt in July, Trump’s security measures have been tightened.
However, the security service seems to have learned from its previous mistakes. When a young man tried to kill Trump at a campaign event in July, the assassination attempt was much closer to success because the police response was not quick enough. This time, the FBI agent acted quickly.
The elections are less than two months away, and another assassination attempt may well affect their outcome. After the assassination attempt in July, Trump’s approval rating increased by a couple of percentage points in the opinion poll.
Currently, Trump and Terrible Harris are practically level in opinion polls, so even small changes are significant.
While Trump is sure to garner even more sympathy for his voting decision among die-hards, the ramifications of Sunday’s assassination attempt are still impossible to tell.
It depends entirely on how successful the campaigns are in their communication in the coming days.
Harris’s campaign has repeatedly warned that Trump is a danger to American democracy in particular. After Sunday’s assassination attempt, Harris must change his strategy and focus his message even more clearly on the economy and his own political program.
Trump, on the other hand, can continue his attack on Harris, but that may not be wise either.
Americans are tired of division and violence. And before the elections, anything can happen.