Those who know me well know that, since the 2020 election, I have feared political violence in connection with the 2024 election and its aftermath. Most of my friends think I am an alarmist. But my fears became reality with the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.
I was shocked and appalled by how many people told me, texted me or emailed me saying something along the lines of, “Damn, he missed.” America has a long history of presidential assassinations and assassination attempts. This is not something we should be proud of.
To me this is a terrible milestone in American history. Although I disagree with Mr. Trump on many things and I believe his election will not be good for the country, no political candidate should be assassinated — especially Donald Trump.
I say this both on moral grounds and practical grounds. The Sixth Commandment forbids us from taking a life without moral justification, which, in my view, does not exist in Trump’s situation. The practicality is that, if Trump had perished, additional political violence, as retribution in a deeply divided America, would likely have resulted.
The assassination attempt will probably change the course of this election, and our country. It will undoubtedly affect Mr. Trump’s personal psyche.
In 1989, I had the honor and privilege of working with President Ronald Reagan’s transition team. There is a law called the Presidential Transition Act, which assists an outgoing president’s transition from office. There are numerous accounting rules that must be complied with under the act and it was my job to establish protocols documenting that the act’s requirements were met.
One day, I was working in a cubicle just outside of President Reagan’s office on the 34th floor of the Fox Plaza building in Century City. I was reviewing some accounting records when I was interrupted by a man who leaned over the cubicle and said, “Hi. I’m Ronald Reagan.”
Reagan was intrigued by what I was doing and asked me into his office to discuss my endeavors in greater detail. When I walked into his office, the first thing I noticed was a Lucite cube on his desk with a bullet in it. There was a brass plate on the side of the cube saying, “This is the one …”
Reagan explained that was the bullet that was left in the chamber of Hinkley’s gun and if Hinkley had gotten that last shot off, Reagan would not have survived. Reagan went on to tell me that he prominently displayed the bullet because the assassination attempt changed his life and his sense of destiny. He felt that God gave him some more time for a reason. Reagan perceived that reason was to work with the Soviet Union to reduce the threat of nuclear war.
As we look back over 40 years ago, the assassination made Reagan stronger politically. He was no longer perceived as too old to be president. He was transformed into a bigger-than-life hero who was enabled to move his political agenda forward.
So, how will the ramifications of Trump’s assassination attempt compare with Reagan’s experience?
From Trump’s personal perspective, it is too early to tell, but I am fairly certain that a life-threatening experience will change how Trump views the world. How it changes Mr. Trump’s views remains to be seen. Perhaps, like Reagan, his views on the Second Amendment will change.
From a political perspective, it reduces Trump’s appearance of being an elderly candidate. Although his injuries were not as serious as Reagan’s, he got up, put on his shoes and raised his fist in defiance of adversity. When you compare that with Joe Biden’s image of frailty and mental incapacity, this has to give Trump a boost in what hitherto has been perceived as a close election.
It also gives Trump the opportunity to play the victim card once again. He can now claim that he is not only the subject of a witch hunt, but an assassination attempt was incited by the “inflammatory” claims that he is a threat to democracy. He will likely persuade many undecided voters that he is right.
Unlike Ronald Reagan’s America, today’s partisanship seems to trump citizenship (no pun intended); political disagreement transcends problem solving.
As this paradigm intensifies, the probability of sustained political violence intensifies while politicians’ ability to effectively address the increasing number of challenges declines. The attempt to assassinate Trump is an unwelcome milestone event in the American political process.
Jim de Bree is a Valencia resident.
