By Saron Gebereegziabhier
Trinity Times Correspondent

As U.S. citizens expressed horror at the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump, this kind of political violence was neither unforeseen nor historically unprecedented.

“The assassination attempt is shocking, but not entirely surprising,” said James Stocker, associate professor of Global Affairs at Trinity Washington University. “Political violence is nothing new in American politics, or global politics, for that matter.”

Less than two years ago David DePape, 44, attempted to kidnap Trinity alumna and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and brutally assaulted her husband, Stocker pointed out. DePape was convicted of assault and attempted kidnapping earlier this year and sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Several Trinity students attending a summer political science class told Trinity Times that the current polarized political climate makes the assassination attempt less surprising and that Trump’s caustic rhetoric theoretically makes him a predictable target.

Investigators are still trying to understand the motivations for 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, killed by the Secret Service July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania, after he opened fire with his father’s AR-15-style rifle at a Trump rally, injuring the former president and wounding three audience members, one of them fatally.

Limited details about Crooks that have been released by investigators show that he was a registered Republican, that his cellphone revealed that he may have read news stories about the teenage school shooter who killed four students at Oxford High School in Michigan, searched a bipartisan roster of political figures – including Trump, President Joe Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland – and looked up the dates of both the Butler Trump rally and the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

“In this case, the jury is still out on what caused the shooter to attempt to assassinate former president Trump,” Stocker told Trinity Times. “It’s likely a combination of motives.”

Biting political attacks and the demonization of people with differing political philosophies have given way to several violent acts against political figures in the 21^st century, including two high-profile shootings of members of Congress – the assassination attempts of Democratic Rep. Gabby Giffords of Arizona in 2011 and Republican Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana in 2017.

Political violence has occurred frequently in the 236 years since the adoption of the U.S. Constitution, said Janice Marquez, a veteran civil rights lawyer and an adjunct professor at Trinity who is teaching this summer’s political science class The American Political Process.

The assassinations of President Abraham Lincoln in 1865, President James Garfield in 1881, President William McKinley in 1901 and President John Kennedy in 1963 are included with the attempted assassinations of former President Theodore Roosevelt in 1912, President-elect Franklin Roosevelt in 1933, President Harry Truman in 1950, President Gerald Ford in 1975 and President Ronald Reagan in 1981, Marquez noted.

“Such acts of political violence, while deeply disturbing, have unfortunately been a recurring feature of U.S. political life since the country’s founding,” she said. 

While condemning the shooting at the Trump rally, Marquez noted she “was not entirely surprised” given the current climate of “political divisiveness, intolerance, and aggression.”

The Trump assassination attempt sparked a range of reactions among students in Marquez’s summer political science class, with some not familiar with the recent political violence in the U.S.

“I was both surprised and not surprised,” said Trinity student Keyana Matthews, a junior majoring in Early Childhood Community Education, whose varied reaction was driven by her view of the former president’s polarizing nature. “Trump is such a divisive figure that something like this was bound to happen.”

A PBS NewsHour/NPR/Marist poll last March found that 42% of U.S. respondents under the age of 30 said political violence may be necessary to get the country back on track.

This percentage may have shocked some in the U.S., but it didn’t surprise Elsa Poci, a 47-year-old Trinity student attending this summer’s political science class.

“It can surprise you if you aren’t aware of the degraded discourse we have now,” Poci said. “Younger voters that I have been in contact with lean more progressive politically. With this comes the realization of revolutionary action like the French Revolution. There are actually numerous indicators we can see online that show us people from all walks of life are taking more aggressive stances to create political change.” 

This is among the reasons Marquez said she wasn’t thrown off guard or surprised at the Trump assassination attempt, calling it a foreseeable event.

“I am troubled by what I perceive as a lack of civility, intolerance, frustration and aggression practiced within our political discourse,” she told Trinity Times.

The responses from Trinity students underscore the complex and often polarized nature of political discourse in the United States. 

Skylar Blue, a 21-year-old Trinity student, believes the Trump assassination attempt reflects “high tensions and anxiety around election years,” while Hewan Mengistu, a 54-year-old senior, expects such behavior from Republicans toward a Democratic leader.

“Political violence is never the answer, but I understand the challenges in making change within the political system,” said Kenisha Toye, a 36-year-old junior majoring in Community Education.

The responses from the Trinity students highlight a mix of shock, disbelief, and concern regarding political violence, with varying levels of familiarity and differing views on the potential for future unrest.

Marquez and the students in her class expressed concerns about the conflict-ridden language being used in the 2024 presidential campaigns.

The overuse of divisive pronouns like “us” and “them” in political rhetoric can exacerbate political violence, Marquez said, preventing Americans from recognizing that “we the people” must come together to address the country’s challenges through lawful, democratic means.

Addressing this worrying dynamic will require a renewed focus on civic education and promoting constructive political dialogue across all age groups, she said.

Ultimately, Marquez believes the nation’s response in the wake of this latest attack has the potential of being pivotal. 

“The way we collectively and individually respond to this shooting, as well as any actions or speech that segregate rather than unite,” she said, “will determine whether the U.S. can overcome its current fractures and continue to thrive.”

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Trinity Times correspondent Brittany McAlister contributed to this article.