Former President Donald Trump was shot and wounded at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday night. The Secret Service escorted Trump off the stage and released a statement saying he was safe. The FBI said it was investigating the incident as an assassination attempt.
The incident occurred minutes after Trump’s speech began. A loud explosion was heard. A Secret Service agent was heard on live video saying, “The shooter is down.” Trump pumped his fist into the crowd as he walked off the stage. His face and ears were covered in blood.
Trump thanked the Secret Service in a post on Truth Social.
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“I was shot above my right ear,” he said on social media after the incident.
Police have named 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, as the suspect in the shooting. One person was killed and two others were injured at the scene. The suspect’s identity has not been released.
President Joe Biden issued a statement after being briefed. “I’m glad that Mr. Trump is safe and well,” Biden said of Mr. Trump. “This kind of violence has no place in America, and we must come together to condemn it,” he said in a subsequent television appearance.
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The incident has raised fears of further political violence in a political campaign that has been chaotic and tense. Trump has repeatedly portrayed himself as the victim of a political witch hunt. He is awaiting sentencing after being convicted in June in New York of 34 felony counts of business fraud.
It was unclear immediately after the incident who the gunman was, but supporters on social media quickly blamed Trump’s political opponents for the shooter. Law enforcement officials said they had yet to determine the shooter’s motive. President Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981 by a man trying to impress actress Jodie Foster.
Meanwhile, Democrats are disheartened by President Biden’s weak performance in the June 27 presidential debate, and many are calling for him to withdraw from the race ahead of the party’s nominating convention in late August.
Markets have largely ignored political developments this year, but political violence could have a big impact on the stock market. The Reagan incident occurred during trading hours on Monday,
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In response, stock prices plummeted and trading had to be halted. Unlike Trump, the president at the time was Reagan.
Political analysts warned that caution is needed in assessing how the events will affect the outcome of the presidential election. Attacking Trump could help solidify his support, but the electorate is deeply polarized. “The stakes are too high and there are too many variables to assume a linear trend,” Tina Fordham of Fordham Global Foresight wrote.
Beyond the uncertainty of the presidential election, the attacks on Trump threaten to widen the country’s deep divisions. The political violence of the late 1960s became a symbol of a dark period in the country that took years to overcome. If things worsen, July 13, 2024, may end up being remembered as the start of a similar moment.
