Whether Trump is leading a mass movement or cult, most of his supporters have complete buy-in to his dark conspiracy theories. After he was shot, Trump’s mood at first became more reflective, taking into account the enormity of the mortal threat. He reflected on God and his personal mission. Trump spoke movingly of unity at the Republican convention right after the shooting. But in subsequent days, as he absorbed the failure of the Secret Service to protect him, there emerged a view that the agency’s inexcusable lapse might have been part of a conspiracy from within the “deep state” to take Trump down.
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The assassination attempt was an “inside job,” Trump has said. During last week’s debate with Harris, Trump said, referring to his opponents, “I probably took a bullet to the head because of the things that they say about me.”
Sunday’s near attack in Florida, even though it was thwarted, will raise tensions that the threat is ongoing and will further congeal, just as occurred after the first attack in Pennsylvania, his personal support. Trump’s margin of approval over Biden went up after that attack.
Given the early bump in the polls Harris received after their debate, this means, for the immediate future, that this presidential race will remain tighter than ever. Which means in turn that the levels of anxiety, fear, divisiveness and angst will continue and intensify until election day in November.
There is no immediate antidote to salve the wounds in the country’s political culture. The best leadership right now is condemning any and all political violence. But that pales, in emotional terms, to the desire of each side to beat the other, with each side believing that only if they win can the country be set on the right course.
Trump’s are the politics of grievance. They are very hard to reconcile with the call from Harris, with her politics of hope and joy, to turn the page. This was tough enough before the shootings started. America today is stalked by near tragedy, if not tragedy itself.
Bruce Wolpe is a senior fellow at the University of Sydney’s United States Studies Centre. He has served on the Democratic staff in the US Congress and as chief of staff to former prime minister Julia Gillard.
Source Agencies
