Political earthquake in the United States

Photo: Gene J. Puskar Associated Press U.S. Secret Service agents surround former U.S. President Donald Trump (not visible) during an assassination attempt at a campaign rally Saturday in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Olivier Du Ruisseau

Posted at 6:02 p.m. Updated at 6:24 p.m.

• United States

Democrats and Republicans have jointly called for unity since the assassination attempt on Donald Trump on Saturday during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. The event, which sparked all kinds of conspiracy theories, promises to mark the presidential campaign. The ex-president has also confirmed that he will go to the Republican convention in Milwaukee on Monday, which will crown him as leader of his party, while Joe Biden assured that security protocols will be revised there.

“We must come together as a nation,” he said last Sunday afternoon at the White House, noting that he had a “short, but good conversation” with Mr. Trump on Saturday evening. The Democratic president also indicated that he had ordered an “independent investigation” into the events. As these lines were written, he was scheduled to deliver a speech to the nation later in the evening.

Recall that on Saturday, Mr. Trump was injured in the ear and then evacuated, his cheek bloodied, after several shots were directed at him, during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The photo of the Republican candidate leaving the stage with his fist raised set social networks ablaze. A bystander, Corey Comperatore, 50, was killed, and two people remained “in critical condition” in hospital, according to a spokesperson for Allegheny Hospital in Pittsburgh, where they are being treated.

Photo: Kevin Dietsch Getty Images via Agence France-Presse President Joe Biden was speaking Sunday about the assassination attempt on Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump at the White House.

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The suspected shooter, identified by the FBI as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, was shot and killed by the Secret Service, the agency responsible for protecting presidents and former presidents. According to several American media, explosives were found in his vehicle not far from the rally site. Pennsylvania state records show that the young man had registered as a Republican voter for the November 5 presidential election, although he had also, at the age of 17, donated $15 to a political action committee that raises money for Democrats.

Conspiracy theories

Joe Biden asked Americans not to “make assumptions about his motives or affiliations,” adding that the FBI was still investigating. Kevin P. Rojek, the federal law enforcement official leading the investigation, said Mr. Crooks may have acted alone and that there were no other threats to public safety. So far, the FBI has found no evidence of psychological disorders or clear ideological affiliation in the shooter.

In any case, many Conspiracy theories have been flooding social media since Saturday. Senator J.D. Vance, who many consider the favorite to be nominated as Donald Trump's running mate, claimed that it was Joe Biden's “rhetoric” that “directly led” to this attack. Mike Collins, a Republican elected to the House of Representatives, even suggested that Joe Biden had “given the orders”, sharing an out-of-context quote from the president on X.

Joe Biden smells the orders. https://t.co/pOc0XLxCwg

— Mike Collins (@MikeCollinsGA) July 13, 2024

Theories about the potential impact of the assassination attempt on the electoral campaign have also been heard since Saturday. While some analysts predict that Trump's new image as a victim of political violence should serve him well, other experts believe that Joe Biden could benefit from the fact that the event diverts media attention monopolized until now by concerns about his age.

Campaign activities on pause

On Saturday, Mr. Biden's campaign moved quickly to pull his television ads from the airwaves across the country and halted all official external communications. The president also canceled a speech he was scheduled to give Monday in Texas and an internal message from his team asked all members of his staff to “refrain from any comments on social media or in public,” as made Mr. Trump's team.

What's more, although political tensions remain high in the United States, Republican Representative Michael Lawler and his Democratic colleague Ritchie Torres, both elected officials in New York, announced Sunday their intention to introduce a bill to strengthen security for Donald Trump, Joe Biden and independent candidate Robert Kennedy Jr.

For now, the spotlight remains on Milwaukee, where Donald Trump is awaited by his supporters with renewed enthusiasm. Nikki Haley, Mr. Trump's latest opponent in the Republican presidential primary, is expected to speak at the Republican Party convention this week, her spokeswoman said. It was not initially part of the program, but it was included, as Republicans sought more than ever to send a message of unity.