It’s possible to be shocked by the attempted assassination of Donald Trump without being truly surprised. Gun violence and toxic politics have become not the exception but the rule in the US in the 21st century. No surprise there.
Even so, this is the most astonishingly lucky escape for the former president. If the bullet that hit his ear had been an inch to one side, the presumed Republican nominee for November’s presidential election would have been killed. The assassination attempt at a political rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, however is indeed shocking, even by the standards of nastiness and hatred that have eroded civility in American public life.
Investigations about the shooter continue, but we do know that Pennsylvania is a vital 50-50 state between Mr Trump and President Joe Biden. Mr Trump has been campaigning hard while Mr Biden – beset by questions about his age and fitness – was taking a weekend’s rest at his beach house in Delaware. He called Mr Trump and said “there’s no place in America for this kind of violence. It’s sick. It’s sick”.
But this sickness is itself not new. This may be one of the strangest, and nastiest, campaigns in American political history, but American public life has always been tinged by violence. It was summed up in an old piece of American doggerel: “How the West was won / Through the barrel of a gun.”
'The right to bear arms' remains constitutional even if also highly controversial
Nowadays the variety of military-style weaponry available to American civilians is truly astonishing. Statista Research suggests that the 350 million Americans (a figure that includes children) own between them about 400 million firearms. Since only about 43 per cent of the population do own guns, many of them must own an assortment, in some cases high-powered military-type weapons. “The right to bear arms” remains constitutional even if also highly controversial.
And of course, American political assassination has a long and difficult history. After defeating the Confederacy in the Civil War, then president Abraham Lincoln in his second inaugural address promised that “with malice towards none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right; let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds”.
Lincoln was then assassinated in a Washington theatre. In 1963, then president John F Kennedy was assassinated on a pre-1964 election trip to Dallas, Texas. The gunman was Lee Harvey Oswald, but the circumstances of the killing have given rise to endless conspiracy theories, more than even Hollywood could imagine.
These include the widespread, yet never substantiated, idea that there must have been a second gunman. The civil rights leader Malcolm X was murdered in 1965, then Mr Kennedy’s brother Robert Kennedy – a presidential hopeful – was assassinated in 1968. That same year, the great civil rights leader the Rev Dr Martin Luther King was also shot dead.
And so, as the facts begin to emerge about this most recent Trump assassination attempt, what we do know is that the presumed shooter was quickly shot dead by US law enforcement. He was identified by the FBI as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, about an hour away from the rally location. He was also registered as a Republican voter, and at the time of writing there are few clues what any potential motive might be.
But what is clear is that in the run up to the November election, the maelstrom of American politics is becoming ever more divisive and turbulent.
There will be questions about how anyone with a rifle managed to get near to the Trump rally. Some witnesses claim that they saw a man with a gun and may have alerted police. And Mr Trump, wounded and bleeding, proved himself as a politician who seizes an opportunity on the political stage when he used the platform that presented itself before being hustled away for medical treatment.
“Wait, wait, wait, wait,” he yelled to the crowd and the TV cameras, pumping his fist to the crowd and appearing to shout: “Fight! Fight!” The crowd roared back and chanted “USA! USA!”
But what is also true is that attempts by former president Bill Clinton and others to limit the access of American civilians to military-style combat weapons have failed. Challenges in the US Supreme Court, with a majority of judges nominated by Republicans, have made the US an extraordinary outlier in the constitutional right to bear arms.
In Texas, for example, and elsewhere, no citizen can legally buy alcohol until aged 21, but they can legally own a gun at 18. And recently more Americans died of gun-related injuries – including suicides – than in any other year on record, according to statistics from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
For now, two TV clips from July 2024 appear to have transformed American politics. A former president defiant and bleeding; a current president lost for words. Just over three months to go before the vote. There could be plenty of surprises ahead.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
WORLD CUP SEMI-FINALS
England v New Zealand
(Saturday, 12pm UAE)
Wales v South Africa
(Sunday, 12pm, UAE)
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Gran Gala del Calcio 2019 winners
Best Player: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)
Best Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta)
Best Referee: Gianluca Rocchi
Best Goal: Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria vs Napoli)
Best Team: Atalanta
Best XI: Samir Handanovic (Inter); Aleksandar Kolarov (Roma), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli), Joao Cancelo (Juventus*); Miralem Pjanic (Juventus), Josip Ilicic (Atalanta), Nicolo Barella (Cagliari*); Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria), Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Duvan Zapata (Atalanta)
Serie B Best Young Player: Sandro Tonali (Brescia)
Best Women’s Goal: Thaisa (Milan vs Juventus)
Best Women’s Player: Manuela Giugliano (Milan)
Best Women’s XI: Laura Giuliani (Milan); Alia Guagni (Fiorentina), Sara Gama (Juventus), Cecilia Salvai (Juventus), Elisa Bartoli (Roma); Aurora Galli (Juventus), Manuela Giugliano (Roma), Valentina Cernoia (Juventus); Valentina Giacinti (Milan), Ilaria Mauro (Fiorentina), Barbara Bonansea (Juventus)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
The biog
Place of birth: Kalba
Family: Mother of eight children and has 10 grandchildren
Favourite traditional dish: Al Harees, a slow cooked porridge-like dish made from boiled cracked or coarsely ground wheat mixed with meat or chicken
Favourite book: My early life by Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, the Ruler of Sharjah
Favourite quote: By Sheikh Zayed, the UAE's Founding Father, “Those who have no past will have no present or future.”
Zayed Sustainability Prize
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
What is Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is the most popular virtual currency in the world. It was created in 2009 as a new way of paying for things that would not be subject to central banks that are capable of devaluing currency. A Bitcoin itself is essentially a line of computer code. It's signed digitally when it goes from one owner to another. There are sustainability concerns around the cryptocurrency, which stem from the process of "mining" that is central to its existence.
The "miners" use computers to make complex calculations that verify transactions in Bitcoin. This uses a tremendous amount of energy via computers and server farms all over the world, which has given rise to concerns about the amount of fossil fuel-dependent electricity used to power the computers.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
TOURNAMENT INFO
Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier
Jul 3- 14, in the Netherlands
The top two teams will qualify to play at the World T20 in the West Indies in November
UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (captain), Chamani Seneviratne, Subha Srinivasan, Neha Sharma, Kavisha Kumari, Judit Cleetus, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Heena Hotchandani, Namita D’Souza, Ishani Senevirathne, Esha Oza, Nisha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi
The Settlers
Director: Louis Theroux
Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
Rating: 5/5
MATCH INFO
Rugby World Cup (all times UAE)
Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5
Tips to stay safe during hot weather
- Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
- Seek cool environments: Use air conditioning, fans, or visit community spaces with climate control.
- Limit outdoor activities: Avoid strenuous activity during peak heat. If outside, seek shade and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
- Dress appropriately: Wear lightweight, loose and light-coloured clothing to facilitate heat loss.
- Check on vulnerable people: Regularly check in on elderly neighbours, young children and those with health conditions.
- Home adaptations: Use blinds or curtains to block sunlight, avoid using ovens or stoves, and ventilate living spaces during cooler hours.
- Recognise heat illness: Learn the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke (dizziness, confusion, rapid pulse, nausea), and seek medical attention if symptoms occur.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Mamo Year it started: 2019 Founders: Imad Gharazeddine, Asim Janjua Based: Dubai, UAE Number of employees: 28 Sector: Financial services Investment: $9.5m Funding stage: Pre-Series A Investors: Global Ventures, GFC, 4DX Ventures, AlRajhi Partners, Olive Tree Capital, and prominent Silicon Valley investors. Ad Astra
Director: James Gray
Stars: Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones
Five out of five stars
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UAE rugby in numbers
5 - Year sponsorship deal between Hesco and Jebel Ali Dragons
700 - Dubai Hurricanes had more than 700 playing members last season between their mini and youth, men's and women's teams
Dh600,000 - Dubai Exiles' budget for pitch and court hire next season, for their rugby, netball and cricket teams
Dh1.8m - Dubai Hurricanes' overall budget for next season
Dh2.8m - Dubai Exiles’ overall budget for next season
