Trump the Target

<Donald Trump blames the Democrats for the shooting attempts on his life. The more he is forced on the defensive, the more expansive his conspiracy theories become.

After the second assassination attempt on Donald Trump in two months, there are many unanswered questions about the latest suspect, the course of events and the motive. What is clear, though, is that the U.S. Secret Service needs to reevaluate how it assesses threats and increase protection for presidential candidates. One hundred percent protection is impossible. But even though most Americans are against political violence and for reconciliation, the U.S. is so polarized that the Secret Service needs to protect presidential candidates like they protect presidents.

The recent suspect wrote online about the election and Trump in ways familiar to Democrats, saying that democracy is at stake. No one knows whether that was the decisive factor for his actions. But it is not the first time that political rhetoric has had the potential to be dangerous. It is also true, of course, that Trump himself bears responsibility for such polarization. He is fueled by fear-mongering and defamation. Such an atmosphere provokes the deranged and the extremists. The Secret Service should review how it is protecting Vice President Kamala Harris, too. She takes the Secret Service’s warnings seriously. Unlike Trump, the Democratic candidate has avoided open-air rallies.

After the shots fired in July in Pennsylvania, Trump initially behaved responsibly. Unlike some of his allies, he did not spread conspiracy theories. Recently, however, he has been forced on the defensive so much that he has also resorted to that conspiracy strategy. In the televised debate with Harris, he said that the Democrats posed a danger to democracy., not him. This ominous rhetoric is ideal when it comes to spinning the tale of a “deep state” and undermining government institutions. Thus, the spiral of escalation keeps spinning. The Democrats should not join in this evil game.