Why Has Trump Faced 2 Assassination Attempts during 1 Election Campaign?*

*Editor’s note: On March 4, 2022, Russia enacted a law that criminalizes public opposition to, or independent news reporting about, the war in Ukraine. The law makes it a crime to call the war a “war” rather than a “special military operation” on social media or in a news article or broadcast. The law is understood to penalize any language that “discredits” Russia’s use of its military in Ukraine, calls for sanctions or protests Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It punishes anyone found to spread “false information” about the invasion with up to 15 years in prison.
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Who is to blame for the rise in political violence in the U.S.?

A dark cloud is looming over Donald Trump, as only two months after surviving an unprecedented assassination attempt, he has become the target of a second one. This time, the Secret Service acted quickly — the shooter was spotted and fired at as soon as he aimed at Trump. Despite that, the situation remains difficult, given that Trump recently has had to deal with multiple security issues.

The first assassination attempt occurred on July 13 at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Another security incident occurred two weeks later at a conference in Nashville, Tennessee: Trump's speech was delayed because of a man who didn't follow the venue entry protocols. In August, during Trump's visit to Arizona, local law enforcement officers detained a man who, on social media, had threatened to kill the former president. At the same time, Trump campaign staff constantly has to deal with hacking and death threats.

Obviously, the political climate in the U.S. is tense. The stakes are high, and thus, many feel anxious and engage in reckless behavior. However, Trump seems to be the target of such recklessness more frequently. Why is that?

The first issue is the media. The Western mainstream media is biased, a fact that should be accepted as a given. In the current U.S. presidential election campaign, with its dramas and unexpected twists and turns, the media have gone into overdrive like never before.

The statistics from the Media Research Center support this claim. Its study focused on the election coverage by the three largest U.S. television channels (ABC, NBC and CBS) after Joe Biden's withdrawal from the race. The results were concerning, as Kamala Harris received 66% more airtime than Trump. Furthermore, her campaign was covered positively in 83% of the reports, a higher percentage than any other presidential candidate, including Barack Obama and Biden. In contrast, 89% of Trump's mentions were negative.

Moreover, the mainstream media often portray Trump as a racist, sexist, narcissistic psychopath and a dumb freak. They suggest he is trying to establish a dictatorship in the U.S., acts as he pleases, yet faces no consequences for his actions. The image of Trump is deliberately made as repulsive as possible. For the most impressionable people, it can serve as a call to action; since justice seems powerless, they may feel compelled to take matters into their own hands.

In this context, it is not surprising that one of the assailants was Ryan Routh, a typical viewer of American television who unquestioningly believed all official narratives without critical thinking. The situation was more complex with the first shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, because he had a minimal digital footprint. However, circumstantial evidence suggests that he relied on sources similar to Routh's. In any case, the person who influenced Crooks was Juraj Cintula, a liberal writer who attempted to assassinate Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico.

Indeed, the American media are not entirely unaware of the consequences of their actions. In the spring of 2023, conservative and liberal media reached an agreement and removed their most radical hosts, such as Don Lemon from CNN and Tucker Carlson from Fox News.

Moreover, after the first assassination attempt on Trump, the political elite also woke up. Biden shifted the focus from criticizing his opponent to emphasizing national unity. On Sept. 11, the former and incumbent presidents were even spotted standing together at commemorations of the 9/11 attacks. However, neither of them could completely give up the emotional and political struggle.** Apparently, the practice of hostile public relations is so deeply ingrained in this presidential election campaign that it cannot be stopped even during such moments.

At the same time, it would be wrong to say that Trump is innocent. Evidently, he also bears his share of responsibility for what is happening. After all, the former U.S. president is a somewhat eccentric person who loves provoking others and is not afraid to get himself into trouble. Indeed, Trump is able to create scandals entirely on his own, giving his opponents reasons to criticize him repeatedly.

For example, consider the controversial attempt by Trump and his team to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. The former president flooded the courts with lawsuits, won none, and provoked the storming of the Capitol, which the Democrats and their friendly media are still talking about to this day.

More recently, in August 2024, Trump threatened that he would imprison all lawyers, political donors, and election officials found guilty of “unscrupulous behavior.” The media enthusiastically reported on Trump's statement and started to scare Americans with the idea that the former U.S. president had threatened innocent people with reprisals.

Unfortunately, these cases are just the tip of the iceberg. During his nearly decade-long tenure in politics, Trump has amassed dozens of similar instances, resulting in hundreds of enemies both within and outside the U.S. It was only a matter of time before the number of disaffected individuals reached a critical mass. Evidently, that is what we are now witnessing. Despite two assassination attempts and a series of minor security incidents, Trump continues to stand his ground and provoke people. Perhaps the saying about an old dog that can't be taught new tricks may not be out of place here.

The author expresses a personal opinion that may not reflect the views of Gazeta.ru’s editorial board.

**Editor's note: Former President Donald Trump, incumbent President Joe Biden, and the current Democratic candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris, all attended the 9/11 commemoration event at Ground Zero in New York City.