Washington [US], September 18: Analysts worry that the suspected assassination of former US President Donald Trump has made political violence the "new normal" and the election more unpredictable.
A day after a second assassination attempt on former President Trump , his campaign said on September 16 that the Republican candidate would continue campaigning as planned and may still play golf. In an interview with Fox News, Mr. Trump accused the suspect, Ryan Wesley Routh, of acting on the "highly inflammatory language" of the Democratic Party.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris both condemned the incident. Ms. Harris stressed that "violence has no place in America," and Mr. Biden had a "very good" phone call and discussed the issue of US Secret Service protection with Mr. Trump.
Many details
Suspect Routh (58 years old) was indicted on September 16 on two gun-related charges, in a case that the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) considers an assassination plot. According to The Hill, FBI agents believe the weapon the suspect used to attack Mr. Trump was an SKS (CKC) model rifle, which uses 7.62 x 39 mm bullets and is equipped with a scope.
Reuters quoted US authorities as saying that the gunman may have been hiding near Mr. Trump's golf course in Palm Beach, Florida, for nearly 12 hours, based on location data from his phone. Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said agents opened fire on the suspect, more than 500 yards from Mr. Trump . He said the suspect did not fire a shot, and Secret Service said the suspect did not have a view of Mr. Trump.
Acting Director of the US Secret Service Ronald Rowe said at a press conference on the afternoon of September 16 that it was unclear whether the suspect knew Mr. Trump would be playing golf there. The suspect hid outside the golf course's wire fence. A Secret Service agent spotted the barrel of a gun protruding from the fence and opened fire. The suspect fled in a car but was later arrested by police on the road. "We have no information to suggest that he was acting with anyone else," FBI agent Jeffrey Veltri said.
New normal worries?
The attempted assassination of Mr. Trump in Pennsylvania on July 13 has led to a wave of reactions, while some leading observers predict that he will be elected in November. Meanwhile, according to Fortune magazine, the political impact of the latest incident is unclear. PBS quoted expert Douglas Brinkley at Rice University (USA) as saying that the "extremely troubling" event occurred after a tumultuous year with the election approaching, creating an unpredictable situation.
Republican strategist David Urban, a Trump ally, said it was too early to know how the second assassination attempt would affect the campaign , but he said he sensed a sense of shock and uncertainty in conversations with people close to Trump. "We've talked about unprecedented things so many times this year. I don't know if we can talk about it anymore," Urban said.
After decades without political violence targeting a major party presidential candidate, the US has now seen two in just two months, writes BBC writer Anthony Zurcher. "Americans have had to adjust to a new political normal ," he writes, adding that the attack was shocking but may be the new normal.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Republican strategist James Davis also said that the latest assassination attempt had not been as loud as the previous one. "I spoke to a lot of people after the incident and it seemed like people expected this. It was horrifying. It's not even shocking. People are talking about it in a more thoughtful manner," he said.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper