What the Attempted Shooting of Trump Means for the 2024 Election
The United States of America is known for many things: its fat people, unhealthy eating habits, and, in recent years, its petulance for gun violence. This past weekend, presidential candidate Donald Trump suffered an attempted assassination attempt while at a rally in Pennsylvania. Luckily, he survived, but many individuals around the globe are asking what this means for the coming election.
Does an assassination attempt mean you automatically get elected? Find out more about the fallout from the attempted shooting of Donald Trump when you read below.
The Events
Before we dive into what this event means, let’s cover exactly what happened. On July 13th, 2024, Trump was at a rally in Butler County, Pennsylvania, when several shots were fired at him. One grazed his ear, and Trump was ultimately fine, but one spectator was killed, and two others were wounded by gunfire.
It was discovered that the assassination attempt was carried out by Thomas Matthew Crooks, who resided in the nearby Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, and drove one hour on Saturday morning to just outside where the event was being held. While there, he remained outside of the rally, climbing on top of a metal manufacturing building that was situated nearby.
Bystanders who were listening in began alerting the police of the presence of Thomas on the building, but in the TikTok videos of the event, it appears that authorities weren’t fast enough. While on the roof, Thomas set up an assault rifle belonging to his father and shot off several rounds of bullets.
The bullets hit Trump’s ear, as well as three bystanders. The presidential candidate was quickly whisked off stage, and authorities returned fire on the gunman, killing Thomas, who was just 20 years old. An investigation into his background revealed that Thomas was a republican voter who had no history of mental illness or violence. Though friends from his high school revealed that he had always loved hunting and had been denied access to the school’s rifle club due to having a poor aim. It is unclear why Thomas decided to attempt to shoot President Trump.
The individual in the crowd who died was a local firefighter, Corey Comperatore. David Dutch and James Copenhaver were two additional attendees who were injured by the gunfire, though they are reportedly in stable condition.
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What This Means for the Election
Events such as this attempted assassination always wreak havoc on the polls. First and foremost, directly after the event, the Biden campaign pulled all of its TV ads off the air. This is done as a sign of respect to the injured candidate, but it also means that there will be no ads for the democratic party in the coming week.
Additionally, when events like this happen, things like sympathy voting begin to take place. One CNN article discussing the death of fireman Corey Comperatore mentions that his neighbor, in light of Corey’s death, registered to vote for the first time in his honor. While this is just one person, it is likely that several others may vote in honor of the deceased, even those who normally wouldn’t care to.
That being said, it is an interesting conundrum because the republican party in the United States is historically pro-gun, while the Democrats are against them. This means that those who want to vote in honor of the deceased may come to a moral conundrum. Do they vote for the party which allowed this violence to happen? Or do they vote for a party that will restrict gun purchases and ownership even though it is not the party the deceased wanted to win? See the issue?
It's also possible that in the coming months, Trump will decide to step down from the election because of his injuries. While we think it is unlikely, it isn’t impossible either.
One final point we need to bring up is American citizens' short memory. If the election were tomorrow, we admit that Trump would likely win automatically. The good news is that it's several months away, meaning the events of this day will fade, and hopefully, Americans will vote for the policies they want to see and not out of empathy for the victims.
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Will the Trump Campaign Spin the Shooting in Their Favor?
The one comment we have to make about this event is the fact that it will be difficult, if not impossible, for the Trump campaign to spin this in their favor outside of sympathy and empathy. First and foremost, the republican party is pro-gun. Therefore, they cannot promise more restricted access or the removal of assault rifles from private households as a result of the event.
This brings us to the next issue: Trump has always been associated with violence and instigated the January 6th attacks on the United States Capitol, something which Trump is still trying to brush under the rug. Therefore, it will be very difficult for him to convince American voters that he is anti-violence based on his past behaviors.
Unfortunately, there are also many conspiracy theories already floating around the internet regarding the gunman. Some say he was hired by the government or Trump himself to try and spin the election in his favor. We have no idea if any of these hold any merit, but it could cause problems if Trump tries to make himself a victim of the shooting.
Overall, the attempted assassination of Donald Trump is a tragedy, especially for the individuals who lost their lives or were in danger of dying just because they attended the event. Events like these, which pull at the heartstrings, inevitably have a domino effect, leading to other events and the possibility that an election could be in Trump’s favor come November. We just hope that people continue to vote for the policies they want to see and not just because a person is a victim of a certain event.
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