Our voice: What should we learn from the assassination attempt on Trump? – by Jan Wondra

On Saturday, the nation was shocked when a lone gunman apparently attempted to assassinate former President and current Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

It has been several decades since a similar attempt was made on the life of then-President Ronald Reagan, and more than 60 years have passed since the gruesome triple assassinations in the 1960s of President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr. Some of us still remember those assassinations, and many of us are still trying to come to terms with their aftermath.

Against this background, some insights from the assassination attempt on Trump:

As President Joe Biden emphasized yesterday in an address from the Oval Office, there is simply no place for political violence in a democracy, especially this one.

The violent attack at Trump’s rally on Saturday – like any politically motivated violent attack – is morally reprehensible on every level. On an individual level, it is wrong. On a societal level, it shakes the foundations of our democratic system, which relies on elections, not violence, to resolve disputes.

Political violence must be condemned in the strongest possible terms. Now is not the time for “It was terrible, but…” This is wrong. Violence creates at least two sides of a problem (often more), which means there is little communication. We cannot “dissolve” without talking to each other.

Now is the time to avoid jumping to conclusions. The people in charge of the investigation must do their job. We don’t know anything about the motive. We don’t know what’s behind it.

We all need to be aware that conspiracy theories are already circulating. Social media is awash with both misinformation from well-meaning people without facts and deliberate disinformation.

Wait for more information. We know very little at this time other than that Trump was injured and at least one bystander was killed and two others were injured. More information will follow and we will evaluate this information once it is verified and released.

The left needs to remember that if Biden had been the target of a similar attack and the right had raised doubts about his legitimacy, credibility, or who was really to blame, we would be right to criticize him as a conspiracy theorist. While some on the left note that the almost immediately available poster of Trump with his fist raised, perfectly placed under an American flag, looks, well, staged, we should not be influenced by or spread misinformation at this moment—it does no one any good.

However, we must point out one of the almost instantaneous finger-pointing events that took place in the minutes following the attack, as some in the crowd turned against the media covering the rally and, according to media reports, began to blame the news media for what happened. As if it was wrong to tell the truth about a candidate and his plans?

It is true that journalists have pointed out that he and his words pose an overtly authoritarian threat to democracy. But to focus on our reporting – rather than the reality that Trump’s constant glorification of violence and announcements of plans that threaten democracy could be a cause of violence – is wrong.

There are already too many politicians who, without much evidence, conclude that the media, Democrats, or anyone who disagrees with Trump is somehow to blame. Influential figures amplifying these extremes include House Speaker Mike Johnson, Ohio Senator JD Vance, and even Congresswoman Lauren Boebert of Colorado.

A Rolling Stone article yesterday said that “prominent conservatives are working to pin the blame for the incident on Trump’s enemies, who called him a ‘fascist’ and stoked heated ‘rhetoric’ that they believe prompted the assassin to shoot the former and possibly future American president.”

Editor’s note: Ark Valley Voicealong with Rocky Mountain PBSbrings the documentary film “Undivide Us” to Salida on July 25. Follow this link for the news report on this free event.