Trump's rally shooting shows 'violence in US politics escalating from rhetoric to action'

Republican presidential candidate and former US president Donald Trump is helped off the stage at a campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, 2024 local time. Trump was injured in a shooting in what the FBI says was an assassination attempt. Photo: VCG

Both US President Joe Biden and former US President Donald Trump called for unity after the shooting at Trump's rally stunned the country. Some observers pointed out that the incident has demonstrated that the long-standing toxic and violent rhetoric in US politics has escalated into violent actions against politicians in recent years, and such violence is likely to become more frequent as the country is further polarized. 

The shooting also exposed the high degree of instability and unpredictability of US politics, further triggering doubts among its allies over Washington's leadership, said experts. 

Trump was in Milwaukee on Monday to make final preparations for the Republican presidential nomination later this week after narrowly escaping a shooting that injured him, Reuters reported.

Trump told the New York Post that he had "prepared an extremely tough speech" about Biden's "horrible administration. But I threw it away" for one he hopes will "unite our country".

In a prime-time address Sunday night, Biden also said that the political rhetoric in this country has gotten "very heated," and "it's time to cool it down."

"There is no place in America for this kind of violence - for any violence ... We can't allow this violence to be normalized," Biden said.

However, after the attack on Trump, many Republicans started looking to put the blame on "over-the-top" anti-Trump rhetoric.

As of Sunday, nearly a dozen lawmakers had pointed the finger at Biden and Democrats at large for the shooting Saturday evening, according to BBC.

Trump's Republican backers pointed specifically to a comment Biden made on July 8 as the president discussed his dismal debate performance in a meeting with donors. "I have one job and that's to beat Donald Trump," Biden said, according to a transcript of the call that Biden's campaign forwarded to reporters. "We're done talking about the debate. It's time to put Trump in the bullseye." 

It is clear for us to see that toxic and violent rhetoric has prevailed in US politics in the past decades, and the Trump rally shooting incident just demonstrated that this toxic trend has already escalated into violent actions against politicians, Lü Xiang, research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Monday. 

Lü predicted that this violence will increase in the future. "Although this [attack] was at the presidential candidate level, the pressure is mounting on those who engage in US political elections, as their security is weak until they got nominated."

Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, noted that by mentioning unity, Trump is now using the attack to gain political points. "US politics is extremely polarized. By utilizing the attack, Trump intends to portray himself as a person that is able to unite different parties."

Trump's allies believe the attacks will reinforce his electoral appeal, making the Republican base more determined to vote for him and drawing sympathy from independent and swing voters, Financial Times reported. 

Observers also said the identity and motive of the gunman will be crucial for the two parties during the election race. 

The FBI said on Sunday that the social media profile of the gunman, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, did not contain threatening language, nor have they found any history of mental health issues. They said he acted alone and have not identified a motive, Reuters reported.

Now the incident has been identified as a lone wolf attack, the debate over gun control, Trump's attempt to use the incident, and remarks from the Republican candidate, will bring more change and uncertainties to the looming election, said Shen Yi, a professor at Fudan University. "During the entire process, information about the gunman and his connection to both parties will be a crucial influencing factor."

Trump's shooting drew strong reactions from the US' allies. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, "I'm sickened by the shooting at former President Trump. It cannot be overstated — political violence is never acceptable. My thoughts are with former President Trump, those at the event, and all Americans."

Li said the incident once again sent a clear signal to US allies that the country's domestic politics is highly unpredictable and uncertain. "How can one expect such an uncertain country to show stability in dealing with relations with allies…the shooting will certainly trigger more suspicions over the US' leadership among its allies."