When former President Donald Trump was the target of an assassination attempt on July 13 the attack on one of America’s most high-profile figures sent shockwaves across the political landscape. The nearly successful attempt was eye-opening for the country, and even the world, and could have extremely altered the nation’s trajectory in too many ways to count.
Immediately, rumors began flying regarding everything from the shooter’s motivation, to the Secret Service’s response and preparedness (or lack of it), to whether the attempt was a setup by his political enemies, or even the Trump campaign itself.
On July 13, thousands gathered in Butler, Pennsylvania, to attend a Trump rally at Butler Farm, an agricultural fairground where Trump had previously spoken. With heavy security due to recent threats, media coverage, and a crowd of supporters backing up his speech, nobody anticipated what would happen that evening.
About 20 minutes into the event, the Secret Service of the U.S. was notified of an individual behaving suspiciously. According to reports, the individual had a rangefinder, a device used to measure distances to remote objects. In hindsight, many argue that at this point, significant measures should have been taken rather than waiting it out. Members of the Secret Service began describing the person to their counter sniper team, still unclear if the man on the roof was armed with a gun.
Just six minutes after Trump took the stage and began speaking, the situation turned chaotic. The crowd alerted officers to the gunman (who was eventually identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks) on the roof of a building about 410 feet away from Trump’s podium. Trump fans watched in horror as a shot rang out and appeared to strike the former president. Mayhem ensued as Secret Service agents tackled Trump to the ground so hard that his tied shoes fell off.
“I don’t know what I would do if I saw someone standing with a gun pointed straight at me when I was just trying to watch an event. I feel bad for the people,” said FCHS senior Savannah Morris.
People began to flee shortly after and officers began going after Crooks. As security guards tried to hustle Trump into his SUV, he put up his fist with blood streamed down from where the bullet had grazed his ear and seemed to say, “Fight, fight, fight.” Three people attending the rally were not so lucky. Comperatore, a 50 year-old chief firefighter was killed trying to protect his family, while two other men were seriously injured. It soon became clear that the counter sniper had fired a shot that killed the gunman.
The question now is, “Could all of this have been prevented?” Conspiracy theories have been flying around the web. Some suggest that the attempt had the fingerprints of the Democratic Party or President Joe Biden himself. Others say the shooting was staged to benefit Trump politically.
“I think that Trump’s team set it up so that he could get all the attention,” said FCHS senior Ellie Sam.
Just nine weeks after the original assassination event, there was another attempt on Trump’s life at his golf course in Florida. The suspect, Ryan Routh, was spotted by the Secret Service pointing a long-range rifle through the fence just ahead of where Trump was supposed to pass while golfing. Secret Service members fired at Routh, who fled before being captured and arrested. Routh had allegedly been lying in wait for around 12 hours, making some question why the Secret Service hadn’t swept the area.
Routh’s motives are a subject of some debate, although just a few days prior he had called Trump a “buffoon,” an “idiot,” and a “fool” in his political posts on X. In addition, while he said he voted for Trump in 2016, he later posted that it was “a terrible mistake.”
Whatever Routh’s motives, the question remains, how could the Secret Service allow such assassination attempts against Trump happen, not once but twice?
Each of the polarized ends of the political parties have their own opinions (some pretty wild, others more possible), but there is a void in the middle filled with so many unanswered questions that may never come to light. Plus, getting answers from the Secret Service has proven to be difficult.
The bottom line is that these assassination attempts are just another example of the extreme political divide in America. In addition, Resorting to violence and trying to kill people is never the right move for dealing with political disagreements.
Regardless of who people decide to vote for in November, I hope people can realize that violence has no place in any election, and that we all need to learn to agree to disagree.
