Breaking news is chaotic, and facts are learned throughout the hours, days, weeks and years that follow a major incident.
But from what we already know, today was a tragedy.
A political rally should never be a crime scene.
Supporters gathered to cheer on former President Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania rally, an event that is now being investigated as an assassination attempt. Two people died; two were critically injured, and the GOP presidential nominee was rushed off the stage with blood streaming down his right cheek.
This should not happen in America.
Trump’s spokesman, Steven Cheung, quickly released a statement saying the former president was “fine” and taken to a local medical facility for treatment.
This country, however, is not fine.
We don’t know much about the shooter yet, other than the individual gained a sniper position outside the perimeter of the Trump rally. I’ve been to several Trump rallies since 2015, and it’s unimaginable and unfathomable to me that a shooter was able to gain this access. I’ve always witnessed heavy security with multiple checks before getting inside the venues. How someone knew where to gain access outside the perimeter is chilling.
I wish I could say it’s as unimaginable and unfathomable to me that we’re witnessing horrendous political violence. We have seen this play out too many times. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise was seriously injured in a 2017 shooting. Former Rep. Gabby Giffords was shot in 2011. Nancy Pelosi’s husband was bludgeoned in October 2022 by an assailant who was targeting the former House speaker.
But it’s not just these shooters and assailants who are violent. Our voters and political leaders share violent rhetoric every day. Immediately after the shooting, some Republicans quickly jumped on X, formerly Twitter, to blame Democrats and the media. And enough Democratic voters questioned if today’s shooting was staged that “staged” was quickly a trending search term.
This is exactly what we shouldn’t be doing.
We should continue to pursue facts about the crimes that unfolded today. We should do it with a sense of urgency but enough patience to wait for the truth, refusing to give in to conspiracy theories. We should extend our well wishes to Trump, regardless of our political affiliations. He is a former president and 74 million Americans voted for him in the 2020 election. We should mourn the loss of the person who went to a Butler rally and did not go home. We should pray for the full recovery of the two people who are in critical condition.
As I was writing this, Trump on Truth Social said a bullet pierced his right ear. “I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin,” he said.
Trump said there was a lot of bleeding, he thanked the Secret Service and called for God to bless America.
“It is incredible that such an act can take place in our Country,” he said.
But perhaps in this darkness we can find the light. We can unite against political violence. We can tone down our hateful rhetoric. We can stop demonizing fellow Americans who do not agree with us.
The GOP has a huge opportunity when the Republican National Convention begins Monday. Some Republicans can blame Democrats and the media for what happened today, or they can invite everyone to condemn violence and hate in all forms.
I hope they choose the latter.
We have enough political leaders lamenting what the country is and was. We need to hear what it can be.
Candy Woodall is the opinion editor at The Baltimore Sun. She would love to hear your thoughts and can be reached at [email protected].
