Gunman tries to take out Trump in attempted assassination

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Butler, Pennsylvania, is a small town, the county seat, about an hour north of Pittsburgh. On Saturday evening, it was the site of an attempted presidential assassination.

Donald Trump was holding a rally in Butler, population 13,500 people. The wider area holds a population of just under 200,000, but Trump’s rally drew 45,000 attendees.

Trump was talking about Biden’s failure on the border with illegal immigration when popping noises, clearly gunshots to anyone with experience with firearms, rang out. Trump grabbed his right ear as if something had hit it and then dropped to the ground before Secret Service agents rushed to surround him.

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“Hawkeye is here,” agents can be heard saying shortly after the incident.

“The shooter’s down. Are we good to move?” the agents can then be heard saying.

The Secret Service formed a phalanx around Trump, protecting him from further shots, but as they picked him up to whisk him away, he raised his fist defiantly in the air, blood clearly coming from his ear. As is customary, an ambulance was nearby in case of any medical issues for a former president and current major party candidate, but with Trump walking on his own they pushed him into the armoured car on site and took him to a local medical centre.

While Trump is said to be fine, one rally attendee is dead, another is injured, and the shooter was neutralized — code for shot dead.

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The bullets that flew at Trump missed his forehead, or temple, both of which would have been deadly, by less than inches. The shooter apparently taking his shot from the top of a building well outside the event perimeter.

The questions that the Secret Service will face over the coming days will include why a shooter was able to get into position so close to Trump and take their deadly shots. There will also be questions about whether the FBI and Secret Service were so focused on their fear of far-right violence that they missed far-left violence.

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There can be no doubt the impact of this attempt on Trump’s life will include a political component.

Immediately after the shooting, text messages from politicos left and right had the same conclusion: This shooting will help Trump win in November. Biden has been dealing with his own issues over the past several weeks, including a bad debate performance, that has led to calls for him to step down.

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Biden came out quickly to condemn the attack on Trump.

“We cannot allow this to be happening,” Biden said. “The idea that there’s violence in America like this is just unheard of.”

Trump himself put out a statement.

“I want to thank The United States Secret Service, and all of Law Enforcement, for their rapid response on the shooting that just took place in Butler, Pennsylvania,” Trump said.

Trump added his concern for the family of a man who was killed and those injured at the event on Saturday.

“I’m sickened by the shooting at former President Trump. It cannot be overstated — political violence is never acceptable,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement.

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Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said he was disturbed by the innocent life lost as a result of the attack on Trump.

“I condemn in the strongest of terms the attempted murder of former President Trump today. I am relieved he is safe,” Poilievre said.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said that his thoughts are with former President Trump and his family after the shooting as well as those of the other victims.

“There is no room for violence at any political event. We must all stand united against political violence wherever it happens,” Singh said.

Trump has been described by his opponents as a threat to democracy, and now the biggest threat to American democracy came from someone firing bullets at Trump, determined that he would never have a second presidency.

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