A Horrifying New Attempt on Trump’s Life

The best, and most disconcerting, proof of the increased threat environment this election season came today in the form of “what appears to be an attempted assassination,” according to the FBI, against former President Donald Trump. It is the second attempt on his life this year, following the July shooting in Pennsylvania when a bullet grazed his ear. There is little public information about the most recent shooter, who hid in bushes adjacent to Trump’s golf course in Palm Beach, Florida.

Trump should be outraged; all Americans should be. No former president or current presidential candidate should be so vulnerable during both public and private events. And the choices facing voters should not be left to the whim of gunmen.

At a press conference, West Palm Beach Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said that a Secret Service agent identified a rifle barrel sticking outside the fence and that agents engaged the gunman until he ran. Fortunately, a bystander took a photo of his car and quickly passed the information to law enforcement.

This latest act of violence is a lot, indeed too much. Violence sits heavily on our politics now. Much is unsettling about this attack: Trump’s schedule was not public; the assassin got dangerously close to the former president with an AK-47-style gun with a long-range scope; he appears to have worn defensive “ceramic tiles” as an ad-hoc bulletproof vest as if anticipating engagement. Most unsettling is that he had a GoPro camera to capture his actions and, if successful, air them to the world.

This appears to have been a real assassination attempt and yet also a performative one. The assassin seems to have been in it for the kill and also for the show.

If politics is in large measure a type of theater, then this assassination attempt was an answer in kind. To seek to livestream or document for posterity the death of a former president, and presumably also an attempt to evade capture or death, shows a certain type of planning, and a desire for a real-time audience. It is no longer enough for the assassin to be known; this would-be assassin was writing his own script, setting the stage and—but for a quick response by a Secret Service agent—directing the finale.

There is more to be learned about the shooter and how he got so close to Trump. Areas around Trump properties will be made more secure. But though the temperature of our politics desperately needs to be reduced, this moment is unlikely to lower the heat. That didn’t happen in July after the Butler, Pennsylvania, attack, and our politics are not likely to demand it now.

There may well be performative aspects to the response. Trump has repeatedly boasted on social media about his heroics following the first assassination attempt, when he yelled “fight” and raised his fist in defiance, creating a memorable image. And our knowledge of the details of what happened today will likely be very much dependent on the Trump camp’s narrative.

Trump has almost been killed at least twice in recent months. Fortunately, he is safe. And he now has a story to tell. His campaign has already issued a statement. As if on cue, it came with a fundraising appeal.