US: second attempt on Donald Trump's life
There has been another apparent attempt to assassinate former president and presidential candidate Donald Trump. Bodyguards noticed a gun muzzle in the bushes near Trump's golf course in Florida and fired immediately. The suspect fled but was arrested shortly afterwards. The press analyses causes and consequences.
The six-guns will continue to smoke
Jyllands-Posten has little hope for a change in US gun laws:
“No American politician dares do anything about the shootings that plague the US ... There is not much will to make changes [among the Republicans]. But it would also be naive to believe that the Democrats want to take action against firearms. ... The image of the alleged perpetrator draped in the Stars and Stripes flag is an unpleasant reminder that rabid polarisation is not the sole preserve of Trump supporters wearing viking helmets and face paint. It exists in both camps. American politicians would do well to take the problems with firearms seriously and clearly distance themselves from the Wild West and Clint Eastwood legacy.”
The victim retaliates with verbal attacks
La Vanguardia fears the impact Trump's words will have:
“The Republican candidate will try to make the most of what has happened. We must not forget that he has already been the target of two assassination attempts, which puts him in the position of victim and not executioner. However, Trump has already shown that he will use this serious incident to discredit his opponent Kamala Harris, whom he has accused of 'inflammatory language', as if she or the Democratic Party were responsible. ... In this tight race, it may be within his rights to do this and something that other unscrupulous candidates elsewhere in the world would do. The drama is that a spiral of accusations can only bring Americans more escalation, rifts and alienation.”
He has polluted the political atmosphere
Trump himself has fuelled violence in the US, the Irish Examiner points out:
“He mocked Pelosi over the hammer attack; he called for shoplifters to be shot and disloyal generals to be executed for treason. He warned of a 'bloodbath' if he is not elected and claimed that undocumented people in the US are 'poisoning the blood of our country'. ... Biden and Harris rightly condemned both attempted assassinations and said they were glad Trump is safe. Even his harshest critics should not condone such actions. But it is inescapably also true that, like a one-man Chernobyl, Trump has polluted the political atmosphere and created a permission structure for violence.”
Another distraction from the campaign
Security issues will now dominate the presidential election campaign, writes The Economist:
“The momentum and media focus that Vice-President Kamala Harris has enjoyed following her strong debate against Mr Trump on September 10th will compete now with wall-to-wall coverage of the suspect's background and the confounding question of how another rifleman could have approached within several hundred yards of the former president without being detected. ... The formidable challenge will be to seek accountability and further strengthen efforts to keep Mr Trump, Ms Harris and other candidates safe while minimising politicisation.”
Divided and armed to the teeth
When the gun cult meets extremism things get very dangerous for politicians, La Repubblica observes:
“The election campaign continues to be defined by the direct clash between two camps that are no longer prepared to reach a consensus. Psychological warfare experts at the FBI and CIA are trying to answer the question 'who might shoot the candidates' to prevent new attacks, but in a nation armed to the teeth with organised extremists of all stripes the answers elude them. ... Thomas Crooks, the 20-year-old who took point-blank aim at Trump on 13 July, had no political affiliation. His profile resembles that of a mass murderer rather than a political assassin.”