Looking Forward From the Second Attempt on Trump’s Life

The second attempt on former President Donald Trump’s life has drawn opinions on the effect it could have on domestic politics from commentators across the spectrum.

Reckless Democrats: Miranda Devine of The New York Post Editorial Board (Right bias) argued the Sunday attempt on Trump’s life “highlights the recklessness of the hateful rhetoric constantly aimed at Trump by his political opponents.” Devine cited rhetoric from top Democrats and liberal media pundits, like their “exaggerated” framing of January 6, 2021 and narrative that Trump is a “threat to democracy,” as overly-inflammatory dialogue that should be toned down to “lower the temperature.”

Guns, Crazy Americans: The New York Times Editorial Board (Left bias) published a conversation between its columnists Gail Collins and Bret Stephens titled “We Cannot Go On Like This” where the two expressed a somber tone that a second attempt on Trump’s life does not feel like a surprise. Collins blamed the United States’ “dreaded gun culture” for the attempt, and Stephens said he suspected it was more about “lost souls… who hunger for fame and imagine infamy is close enough.”

Intolerable: An opinion from The Miami Herald Editorial Board (Lean Left bias) concluded that political violence “is not something that Americans can or should accept as inevitable.” The Board argued that for a democracy to function effectively, Americans must come together to “combat political violence” and that the continuance of such violence will further divide the nation.