A profitable murder attempt for Donald Trump

Photo: Anna Moneymaker Getty Images via Agence France-Presse Frowning, the ex-president called at this precise moment on his supporters to maintain the fight by calling on them three times to “fight, fight, fight”.

Fabien Deglise

Posted at 9:49 a.m. Analysis

• United States

The photo went around the world. It shows a combative Donald Trump leaving the stage of the political rally in Pennsylvania, where he was the target of a sniper on Saturday, exfiltrated by his bodyguards, his fist in the air, his face marked by a trickle of blood .

Frowning, the ex-president called on his supporters at this precise moment to maintain the fight by calling on them three times to “fight, fight, fight”.

< p>In a dark, tense and chaotic electoral campaign, the attempted assassination of the ex-president by a young 20-year-old Republican voter, shot dead by the police and identified early Sunday by the FBI as a guy from the region where the political meeting was held, came to confirm the instability and the great uncertainty into which the presidential campaign has entered for several weeks. And four months before the election, it could also change its trajectory, by now increasing the support of the populist who has become, through his shots, the victim of political violence that he himself has ironically been fueling for years.< /p>

“By surviving an assassination attempt, you become a martyr and you benefit from a wave of public sympathy,” summed up Douglas Brinkley, historian of the American presidency and professor at Rice University, quoted by the Washington Post Sunday. “There is something in the American spirit that loves to see strength and courage expressed under pressure and the fact that Trump decided to raise his fist high in the air [as he left the stage] will certainly become a new symbol” of this campaign, he added.

Photo: Evan Vucci Associated Press “By surviving an assassination attempt, you become a martyr and you benefit from a wave of public sympathy,” summed up Douglas Brinkley, historian of the American presidency and professor at Rice University, quoted by the Washington Post Sunday.

The reactions of those close to him

Donald Trump's entourage was quick to capitalize on the cliché, quickly spreading it on social networks in the wake of the assassination attempt, accompanied by combative or esoteric messages. “He will not stop fighting to save America,” wrote his son Donald Trump Jr. on the X network. “He is the fighter that America needs,” added his brother Eric Trump. “God protected President Trump,” wrote under the image Florida Senator Marco Rubio, a politician regularly named as a possible Donald Trump running mate.

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“Grateful of Donald Trump's sacrifice. Grateful that God protected him,” commented former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy while conservative activist and fervent supporter of the Republican candidate, Candace Owen assured under the strong image that “the elections were over” and that Donald Trump was going to be the next “President of the United States.”

The man shows himself to be politically formidable in the position of the victim and the martyr, as he has demonstrated for months in the wake of the numerous criminal accusations and even convictions by the courts which fell on him, the day after his defeat, his attempts to reverse the results of the 2020 vote and the fraudulent cover-up of an adulterous relationship with a porn actress. The attempted murder which cut short his allocation on Saturday in the small town of Butler, north of Pittsburgh, could create a new wave of sympathy for the politician with autocratic and anti-democratic overtones, as it did for other figures on the American political scene.

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Assassination attempts in American history

In March 1981, this was what benefited the Republican Ronald Reagan, targeted by a mad shooter, John Hinckley Jr., who attempted to assassinate him in a street in Washington, while the newly elected president was walking towards his limousine. In the following days, the popularity rating of the former Hollywood star and convinced conservative, already high at 60%, rose by eight points. A current of sympathy for Reagan, injured during the attack, which however occurred early in his presidency and whose impact on his re-election, four years later, in 1984, remains difficult to assess. The man's image was partly tarnished subsequently due to the difficult economic conditions of the time. However, he will be renewed for a second term until 1989.

Conversely, the attempted assassination of Teddy Roosevelt in October 1912 by a German immigrant named John Schrank, while the ex-president was preparing to deliver a speech in Milwaukee, did not have the same effect. By chance and coincidence, it is in this city that the Republicans will hold their National Convention starting Monday, celebrating the candidacy of Donald Trump for the presidential election next November.

Roosevelt then sought to reconquer the White House left in the hands of another Republican four years earlier: William Howard Taft. In vain. It was ultimately the Democrat Woodrow Wilson who won the presidential election that year.

Teddy Roosevelt, however, faced the attack with remarkable aplomb, despite everything delivering his speech with a revolver bullet embedded in his chest and whose course, having become non-lethal, was slowed down by his scope case and the 50 pages of his allowance that he had in his pocket.

A historical story recalled to the good memory of the present by the ex-Republican strategist and strong critic of Donald Trump who on way as Teddy Roosevelt.”

Sunday morning, on his social network, Donald Trump assured that “God” was the only one “to prevent the unthinkable from happening” and thanked “everyone for [their] thoughts and [their] prayers yesterday “. He also called on his troops to “not be afraid” and to “remain resilient” in their faith and mobilized against wickedness. “Right now, the most important thing is that we stand together and show our true character as Americans, staying strong, remaining determined and not allowing evil to win,” he added.