The United States of America is witnessing a moment of deep reckoning. The assassination attempt by 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Pennsylvania of the presumptive Republican Presidential candidate, Donald Trump, has revealed to the world a septicaemic American political system. The real road to making America great again, at this moment of truth-telling, will only be navigated if the silent majority of its people act with unprecedented alacrity to reclaim the American dream and work together to create what President Barack Obama had once described, more than 15 years ago, as a more perfect Union.
Consider this: The surreal Dali-esque photograph of the blood-streaked Donald Trump with his raised fist, surviving the assassination, is not a metaphor for the triumph of democracy; instead, it is reflective of the end of conversation. As The New York Times’ Editorial Board put it succinctly “cultural and political polarisation, the ubiquity of guns and the radicalising power of the internet have all been contributing factors” in America’s deep dive into darkness.
To be sure, this is not the first time that American political leaders have been targeted. Four Presidents, including Abraham Lincoln and John F Kennedy, were killed, while in office, and Ronald Reagan and Theodore Roosevelt survived assassination attempts. But rarely before has a single act of violence reflected a cesspool of deep anger, polarisation, and unprecedented alienation. The language of politics, even in the hours after the assassination attempt, has been incendiary and deeply provocative; no lessons, it seems, have been learnt so far.
If the US continues to pretend that it is business as usual after the Secret Service, the FBI and the American justice system have dealt with the obviously deranged actions of Crooks, it will be a farcical attempt at addressing only the superficial symptoms. If this incident leads to a wave of sympathy for Trump, and his victory in November, the tragic tide that could overwhelm the US will take the force of a tsunami. And if this act forces the Democrats to react with tactical opportunism to abandon an unquestionably fragile Joe Biden, they will be deeply implicated in the slide towards an abyss whose contours we can still not define.
Republican presidential candidate and former US President Donald Trump gestures with a bloodied face while he is assisted by U.S. Secret Service personnel after he was shot in the right ear during a campaign rally at the Butler Farm Show in Butler, Pennsylvania. (REUTERS/Brendan McDermid)
The US needs to introspect, and to be sure, it will introspect deeply. For, surely, any half-baked response now will not stem the contagion; the American political class needs to cleanse itself, in a purgatory if that was possible. If the idea of “the land of the free and home of the brave” is not to be reduced to a caricature, America needs to go back to the vision of its founders.
To paraphrase the always incisive Hannah Arendt: Politics and violence are opposites; where the one rules absolutely, the other is absent. Violence appears where politics is in jeopardy, but left to its own course, it ends in politics disappearing. Political violence and domestic terrorism are arguably the single greatest source of insecurity in the US. One of the most terrifying acts of political violence in recent memory was the storming of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. Supporters of then-president Trump breached the Capitol building and disrupted the certification of the Electoral College results. This unprecedented attack on what many view as the heart of American democracy exposed not only the trust deficit between the two political parties but also that activists were willing to use violence as a means for achieving political ends. That Trump has emerged politically almost unscathed despite those events and is on the road to presidential victory — if the polls are good evidence — is indicative of how badly America has fallen.
The US has witnessed an upsurge in extremist movements across the political spectrum in recent years. Xenophobic far-right groups and ultra-left-wing radicals have engaged in acts of violence, including sit-ins and protests turning into riots, attacks on government buildings, and targeted harassment, including on university campuses, as a consequence of the war in Gaza.
Political leaders have also been targeted. In 2022, the home of Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic speaker, was attacked, and her husband was repeatedly “bashed” in the head with a hammer. Earlier, in 2017, a left-wing radical shot and nearly killed Steve Scalise, the Republican majority leader in Congress.
The mushrooming of social media platforms and the dark web has played a critical role in indoctrinating vulnerable young men and women and spreading disinformation. The spread of false narratives and conspiracy theories has fuelled anger, mistrust and justification of violent actions, posing a grave threat to reasonable conversation.
Most political theorists agree that acts of political violence have far-reaching implications for the functioning of American democracy. They undermine the principles of peaceful protest, compromise, and civil discourse that are vital for a healthy democratic system. They impact political participation and public engagement, as fear and intimidation become prevalent.
Report after report has given specific recommendations. Strengthening gun control measures, combating online radicalisation, and investing in civic education are seen as important steps towards preventing future acts of violence. Additionally, fostering dialogue, promoting empathy, and rebuilding trust in democratic institutions are vital for restoring a healthy democratic discourse.
The attempted assassination of Donald Trump can be a game-changing moment. By addressing the root causes of violence, promoting dialogue, reaffirming democratic values, and strengthening democratic institutions, the US and its democracy can become a beacon of light again. If the dastardly attempt on Trump’s life leads to the victory of Trumpism in November, the crime of Thomas Matthew Crooks will have consequences which even he, in his most delusional moment, might never have imagined.
The writer is Dean and Professor, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University and former member, National Security Council’s Advisory Board
