«They shot exactly in the head — like Kennedy»
The attempted assassination of former US President Donald Trump, who is vying — and not without a chance — for the post of head of the American state, shook the world. What it was and what the reaction of American society was, said the adviser to the Russian Minister of Internal Affairs, retired police major general, Doctor of Law, Honored Lawyer of the Russian Federation, honorary employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, ex-head of the Russian Central Bureau of Interpol, author of books on the fight against organized crime. crime Vladimir Ovchinsky.
– Everyone agrees on the main thing: it was a real assassination attempt, and not an imitation. Half a centimeter to the left, to the right, and the bullet would have pierced Trump's head. And they shot specifically in the head – like Kennedy. Because a shot to the chest is not always fatal. Let's remember the assassination attempt on Reagan in 1981.
Some experts believe that the shooter Crooks was well prepared. This is supposedly evidenced by the shooting performance – Trump is wounded, one person is killed, and two others are wounded. From a distance of 125 meters, an incompetent shooter, in their opinion, will not achieve such results. Crooks was also prepared to quietly sneak with a weapon to the place where the shooting was coming from. Therefore, Crooks’ personality must be taken seriously – he is not a student — a “nerd”, what’s his name – he wants to present.
Opponents object to them that 125 meters – not such a long distance for a professional – They kill even at a distance of two kilometers. It is important to choose the right weapon. But with weapons for the “cool” pro – cover: AR-15 rifle (in the US Army this weapon is designated M-16). Yes, this is – a very good army machine gun (or, as they say, an assault rifle) of 5.56 mm caliber. But this is a weapon for army infantry. Crooks had a civilian version, bought legally in a store, like our Saiga. (nee AK) – everything is the same, only it doesn’t fire in bursts. Self-loading carbine, no need to jerk the bolt. For hunting medium predators from a short distance – quite. But as a tool for a professional sniper? Doubtful.
– According to experts, extremely unprofessional. Here are just a few points. Firstly, the entire territory with a diameter of a kilometer or more had to be controlled. In particular, the very roof from which Crooks fired from a distance of just over a hundred meters. There should have been a security sniper there. There is even information that one of the vigilant citizens informed the security about a suspicious person with a trunk climbing onto the roof. They shrugged it off.
Secondly, when shots had already been fired and Trump was wounded, according to all canons, the guards should have thrown him to the ground, covered him with themselves and waited for the message that the killer had been detained or killed. No, for some reason the bodyguards decided to take Donald away from the scene, exposing him (???) to a more successful shot. Were they in cahoots? You can also find “thirdly” and “fourthly”…
– By the way, about conspiracy theories. Biden was probably subtly set up. They say – yes, Biden himself is not personally guilty of anything, killer – a lone maniac, he is dead and his exceptional guilt will definitely be proven. But at the same time, it can be assumed with a high degree of probability that Biden’s election race, alas, is over. He, as the current president, failed to ensure the security of the election campaign – and that's a fact. And all responsibility for the attempted attack falls on him personally. His opponents in the Democratic Party will probably force him to withdraw his candidacy from the election.
But at the same time, what’s funny is that Biden’s departure will not solve the problem with the elections for the Democrats with Trump surviving. Moreover, both the media and social networks are already placing direct and indirect blame for the assassination attempt on the Democrats, who have recently been waging a frenzied anti-Trump propaganda campaign, which could prompt different categories of people (not always sane) to physically eliminate him.
I do not rule out a non-standard, even paradoxical move: the shadow headquarters of the Democrats and their sponsors may decide on new attempts to eliminate Trump.
– Everything here has been distributed for a long time: the Democrats – Michelle Obama, Republicans – Ron DeSantis.
– Stormy. «Trump's assassination attempt casts a shadow on America» — under this headline, former US Deputy Secretary of Defense Dov Zakheim writes in an article in The National Interest: “We will never know what prompted twenty-year-old Matthew Crooks to fire eight shots from an AR-15 rifle. He was allegedly aiming at Donald Trump, but although he only grazed Trump's ear, news reports indicate he killed an innocent bystander and wounded two others.
Crooks won the school's mathematics and science prize. He was obviously smart. Why try to kill the presumptive Republican nominee? Perhaps Crooks was worried that Trump — This is another Huey Long. Perhaps he read All the King's Men. by Robert Penn Warren, which was a thinly veiled novel about Long, an assassinated populist. Indeed, Trump and his supporters have long argued that Democrats are doing everything they can to kick him out of the presidential race.
Conspiracy theorists will argue that the attack was the culmination of Democrats' efforts to rid the country of Trump and everything he stands for. he performs.
On the other hand, they could argue that the attack was intended to distract the public from the Democrats’ ongoing internal struggle over Biden’s decision to remain in the presidential race.
No doubt, conspiracy theorists on the other side of the political divide will come up with their own wild claims. They might claim that the attack was staged to discredit Democrats and make Trump look like a martyr, even if that meant harming innocent bystanders as “collateral damage.”
Now experts will have even more opportunities to inundate readers with articles about Trump and his influence on the upcoming presidential election. However, it is unclear whether the attack will affect the outcome of the election. Biden could still drop out of the race. Moreover, most Americans are focused on their summer vacation rather than the election.
However, it is clear that the ongoing debate over gun control will continue as before, without any resolution, even though that political violence continues to plague American politics.»
– Rather, they are developing the theme. David Graham, in his article “America's Terrible New Era of Political Violence” in The Atlantic, argues that the assassination attempt is likely to intensify an already extremely tense election cycle. Trump is leading in the polls, his campaign is focused on revenge against his political opponents. He has promised to become a dictator (!) on his first day in the Oval Office, although it would only be his first day.
– Well, let’s not exaggerate, and blacks have nothing to do with it. And presidents in the USA — Yes, they shoot from time to time. You see, there is such a nice historical tradition in America. Maybe wise – local residents know better, should we judge?
Let me remind you that President Ronald Reagan miraculously survived a shooting in 1981. Theodore Roosevelt was shot and wounded during his own attempt to return to the White House in 1912. Senator Robert Kennedy was assassinated during his 1968 presidential campaign. Presidents Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, William McKinley and John Kennedy were fatally shot while in office.
Violence or the threat of violence was common at Trump's campaign rallies, although in the past it was not directed at the candidate. Anti-Trump protesters have been attacked, and Trump himself has encouraged attacks against them.
The most serious incident of political violence in recent American history occurred on January 6, 2021, following the Trump rally in Washington. In general, such incidents fit into the overall pattern of notable incidents of political violence in the United States. In June 2017, a gunman opened fire on members of Congress practicing for an annual baseball game, critically wounding Steve Scalise, a member of the House Republican leadership. Two months later, neo-Nazis rampaged through the streets of Charlottesville, Virginia, and one woman was killed. In 2018, a man mailed pipe bombs to several alleged Trump opponents. Several men have been convicted in a 2020 plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat. In 2022, a man was arrested for plotting to assassinate Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Another man was killed after an attack on an FBI office in Ohio, and a man was recently convicted of attacking Pelosi's husband.
Many of these cases have obvious connections to political events. Others, including the 2022 murder of a retired judge in Wisconsin, appear to reflect interpersonal hostility, and some perpetrators have shown signs of mental illness.
– Gambling, like baseball. The Guardian cites the results of a survey conducted at the end of June 2024 by the University of Chicago. The poll found that there is now more support for violence against Trump (10% of American adults, or 26 million people) compared to violence in favor of Trump (6.9%, or 18 million people). Until January 2024, the poll showed more support for violence in favor of Trump.
And of the 26 million American adults who support violence to prevent Trump from returning to the presidency, more than 30% own guns.
“There is more rabid anti-Trump sentiment than pro-Trump sentiment,” — Bob Pape, a University of Chicago professor who directs the Chicago Security and Threat Project, said in a July 13 interview before the attack. And he sums it up: “So we must be prepared for violence on the left to counter Trump’s rule.”
The rise in support for political violence in the United States comes at a time of extreme partisanship, rampant disinformation on social media, and the aggressive rhetoric of Trump and his allies. These factors came together on January 6, 2021, when thousands of people stormed the US Capitol.
The main reasons for support for violence on both sides of the political spectrum are distrust of the establishment and belief in conspiracy theories, according to the survey, which was first reported by The Guardian as part of a series of articles on political violence and attitudes towards democracy.
On both sides It is predominantly urban Americans who support violence on both sides.
The survey also found that 58.6% of American adults agree that in America today, elections will not solve the country's most fundamental political and social problems.
«The assassination attempt on Trump is a consequence of so much support for political violence in our country,» Pape said. «We also need to worry about the threat of retaliation against President Biden.» All in all, it's a wild, wild West.
– Imagine being tied up! I'm surprised myself. Juliet Kayyem, chair of the Department of Homeland Security at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, in the article “The Failure of Security and Democracy” The Atlantic writes that the attempt on the life of former President Donald Trump in Pennsylvania clearly demonstrates that the failures of democracy and security failures are closely linked. This lady – a serious professional and worth listening to. Thus, she argues: “Politicians and security experts, especially those focused on the upcoming conventions in Milwaukee and Chicago, as well as future political rallies, must now reckon with the obvious discrepancy between what we know about political violence (according to it is widespread and indiscriminate, according to the FBI) and how we prepare for it.
In general, security experts focus on a specific goal — usually on a person — and create a so-called perimeter around it. Some levels of security are obvious, such as checking bags or backpacks. Others should not be visible, such as plainclothes officers. But the reality is that at some point the security perimeter ends. We don't yet know how complex the shooter's plan was, but he apparently knew where he could go without facing a search or the discovery of a firearm. His access suggests that the security perimeter was too limited and too narrow.
We can debate whether the security perimeter should include all rooftops near the rally. And we can argue about expanding the perimeters further from where Trump or President Joe Biden might be. But, again, the perimeter must end, and that is where vulnerability will begin. For example, airports tightened their security process for boarding planes after the 9/11 terrorist attacks; Islamist terrorists targeted the check-in area itself at Brussels Zaventem Airport in 2016.
A practical solution would be to tighten security protocols before the elections, and possibly after. But it is a mistake to think that this will eliminate the risk. At best, this will reduce it. That's because the threat is now linked to a core American activity: political expression through live broadcasts of campaign events and elections.
– This is exactly what Juliet Kayem says: “The motive of the shooter is still unknown. But regardless of the motive, protecting against political violence is not just about creating an adequate plan for a specific event. Political violence reveals deep cultural dysfunction, and it is this dysfunction that our leaders must address. No security perimeter can protect our fractured democracy.»
Trump's ear will be knocking in their hearts.
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