A National Inflection Point?

CNN

 

The assassination attempt on Donald Trump shook the country.  It is one of those events like 9-11 that everyone will remember for the rest of their lives.  The images of Trump ducking when grazed in his left ear and being covered and protected on the ground by the Secret Service agents are unforgettable.  The images of him rising, face streaked with his blood, pumping his fist, and saying “fight, fight, fight” are unbelievable.  These images may well win the election for him.  This assassination attempt shook up the county.  We were all united finally, if only for a moment.  We were all glued to the news on the evening of the shotting and the next day.  

Since the last election and the January 6 storming of the capitol, there has been a threat and fear of violence in this country.  The threat of violence is in the Trump friendly press and certainly embodied in the peripheral groups around Trump including the Project 2025 leadership.  The anti-trump press and the Democrats have done the same and painted Trump as a fascist and would be dictator should he get elected as President again.  The Trump supporters are very vocal about their disdain for Joe Biden and vice-versa.  I was pretty sure that if there were to be any violence, it would be direct against Biden.  I now believe I was influenced by the anti-Trump yellow journalism.

Trump had the upper hand after Biden’s dismal performance in the debate.  Combine this with Biden’s introducing Ukrainian President Zelensky as Putin and his own VP, Harris, as Trump, the whole country believes that Biden is not mentally fit to be President.  Defiantly surviving the assassination attempt as he did has only solidified Trump’s support and lead.  An Op-Ed in the Wall Street Journal puts this conclusion in an historical perspective:

 

Donald Trump was only glancingly wounded on Saturday, but the effects of the attack and of his courageous response will be profound. His chance of victory substantially increased, and the movement he represents will continue to be a powerful force in American policy regardless of November’s result.

 

Mr. Trump is part of a strain of American politics that Andrew Jackson brought to power in 1828. In domestic politics, Jacksonians are skeptical of big business, hate the political and social establishment, and demand “common sense” solutions to complex problems. They support the military but not an officer class seen as distant from the values and folkways of the nation— West Point stuffed shirts in the 19th century, “woke generals” today. They assume the political class is deeply and irreformably corrupt.

 

In foreign policy Jacksonians feel no need to spread democracy around the world. Instinctively realist, they view the United Nations and international law that would bind the U.S. with fear and contempt. Absent serious threats against America, Jacksonians have little interest in foreign affairs. But when the U.S. is attacked, they believe every measure is justified in its defense. Jacksonians don’t regret assaults on civilian targets during World War II, including Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Relentless warfare against terrorists is justified; most Jacksonians support Israel’s war in Gaza and believe the U.S. should respond to terror with the same vigor.
~ WSJ “America’s Jacksonian Turn“ by Walter Russell Mead

 

 

I believe victory is his if he follows this game plan outlined in an editorial in the same issue of Wall Street Journal:

 

His opportunity now is to present himself as someone who can rise above the attack on his life and unite the country. He will make a mistake if he blames Democrats for the assassination attempt.

 

He will win over more Americans if he tells his followers that they need to fight peacefully and within the system. If the Trump campaign is smart, and thinking about the country as well as the election, it will make the theme of Milwaukee a call to political unity and the better angels of American nature.

 

That leaves plenty of room for criticizing Democrats and their failed policies. But the country wants civil disagreement and discourse, not civil war.

~ WSJ The shooting of Donald Trump

 

This seems very logical.  Here is the big question.  Will Donald Trump agree that this is the right plan and can he stick to it.  He is an unpredictable candidate which seems to be part of his appeal. 

Both Biden and Trump have talked about toning down the vitriol.  Trump said he is rewriting his main speech at the RNC to reflect such changes.  Other politicos have voiced the same need to tone things down while still advocating for and discussing policy positions.  I sure hope this is the case.  If everyone loves this country as we all claim, I do believe way less polarization and vitriol is exactly what we need.  The media will have do its part as well and tone down their rhetoric that has been a major enabler of, if not outright contributor to, our polarization.

Furthermore, can this assassination attempt be the event that finally has us addressing gun violence and mass shooting legislation that works.

I don’t ask for much do I…