The news of the attempted assassination of former US President Donald Trump has shocked not only America but the entire world. Although in recent years American public discourse and society have become increasingly polarized, with the rhetoric growing harsher and more strident on both sides of the aisle, few believed that an assassination attempt could actually occur—despite the numerous examples in US history.
‘I started receiving phone calls, messages, and emails from all my friends and colleagues,’ Republican congressional aide Johnny Szani recalled the minutes following the attempted assassination while speaking to Hungarian Conservative.
Szani, whose family moved to the US when he was only five years old, is currently in Hungary. However, a close friend of his was present at the campaign event in Pennsylvania where Trump was shot at. According to him, there was widespread panic at the rally when the shots were fired. ‘Everyone was scrambling because no one knew what was going on with the president or if he was okay. The general atmosphere was one of shock and horror, with many people screaming.’
At the same time,
the attempted assassination has provided a glimpse of an America we have not seen for a long time.
Both Democratic President Joe Biden and former President Trump issued statements calling for political unity and condemning the attack. The two rivals even conferred by phone, an unusual occurrence during a heated campaign. Biden also suspended his political campaign ads attacking Trump for the next week. ‘For many Americans, it’s a time for self-reflection,’ Szani pointed out. He added: ‘The general mood of the country right now is one of sombre unity, more or less.’
This unity is also reflected in both the social and the traditional media. CNN, which frequently criticizes Donald Trump, initially reported that the former president had ‘fallen’ at a rally. However, once the gravity of the situation became clear, mainstream media showed sympathy for Trump. ‘I don’t think it’s going to last very long, but it’s very nice to see that Americans are still able to come together despite how polarized we are. I think that’s more or less the main takeaway,’ Szani said. ‘The vast majority of Americans and various politicians, whether Democrat or Republican, have come out in support of Trump. Most of the statements have aimed
to show unity rather than the usual mudslinging we typically see.
Hopefully, we are able to learn and move on from this,’ he added.
The impact of the assassination attempt on Trump and Biden’s chances in the upcoming November presidential election remains uncertain. Many believe the events have clarified Trump’s path to victory, but Szani is more sceptical. He does not think it will be the deciding factor, but rather a part of a broader pattern indicating a general downward trajectory for Biden. ‘It’s a pattern of growing issues for the Biden campaign: the poor debate performance, the NATO summit where he introduced Zelenskyy as Putin, the increasing calls from his party to step aside, and now the assassination attempt on his political rival.’
On the flip side, Trump tends to emerge from negative situations relatively unscathed. For example, when he became a ‘convicted felon’, he raised around 400 million dollars in about two days. Szani noted that the sequence of events—the mugshot, the conviction, and now the assassination attempt—has turned Trump into a rebel or martyr figure, which is something Americans absolutely love. ‘America is a country founded by revolutionaries and martyrs. This very much appeals to the fundamental beliefs of Americans across the political spectrum,’ he concluded.
