America struggles with 'who we are as a nation' after another attempted assassination

A Palm Beach County Sheriff's official holds a photograph of the rifle and other items found near where the suspect was discovered. Getty / AFP

Soon after Donald Trump was nicked by a bullet at a rally in July, President Joe Biden gave a White House address to condemn the attempted assassination, saying that such violence is “not who we are as a nation”.

“It's not who we are, and it's not America,” he said.

A little more than two months later, here we are again. On Sunday, after Mr Trump escaped another attempt on his life, the exact same lines were spoken.

“It's not who we are as a nation,” Vice President Kamala Harris's running mate Tim Walz said after the thwarted attack in Florida.

The latest incident unfolded after lunch on Sunday as Mr Trump was about to start putting on the fifth green of his West Palm Beach golf club. Ryan Routh, an outspoken pro-Ukraine activist, was hiding in some bushes behind a chain-link fence at the edge of the course, officials say. He had allegedly set up a crude sniper's nest protected by ballistic plates and appeared intent on filming his actions with a GoPro camera.

A Secret Service agent shot at Mr Routh as he was poking his SKS-type rifle through the hedge, only about 400 metres away from Mr Trump. Mr Routh ran off unharmed but was soon arrested.

Coming so soon after the first attempt on Mr Trump's life at a rally in Pennsylvania, Mr Walz's words seem profoundly jarring and again highlight the risks facing America from within.

I've spent most of my career working in the US and am grateful for the many opportunities I've been given here. But the high levels of political and general violence reflect badly on “who we are” as a nation and assure me that I will eventually return to my native Britain.

A long list of American presidents have been shot at, dating back to before the Civil War. The most recent assassination was John F Kennedy in Dallas in 1963, and Ronald Reagan was shot and wounded in 1981.

Recent years have seen political violence become so commonplace here that many Americans now shrug it off. The news cycle had largely moved back to “regular” election coverage by Monday morning, less than 24 hours after the Republican presidential candidate was nearly shot at.

Elon Musk even took to his social media platform X to ponder why “no one is even trying to assassinate Biden/Kamala”. He later deleted the post and said he had been joking, but it's a pathetic reflection of the times that such rhetoric might be considered funny.

The January 6, 2021 assault on the US Capitol, the hammer attack against Nancy Pelosi's husband, threats against Brett Kavanaugh near the conservative US Supreme Court justice's home, a conspiracy to kidnap Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer. This is just a partial list of the cases of political violence since 2020. Mr Trump has rightly been accused of fanning tensions by his divisive rhetoric, but Democrats too have chosen their words poorly.

For instance, Mr Biden admitted it had been a mistake to say it was “time to put Trump in a bullseye”, just days before the first assassination attempt.

Mr Trump on Monday criticised Mr Biden and Ms Harris for “highly inflammatory language”. The would-be gunman “believed the rhetoric of Biden and Harris, and he acted on it”, Mr Trump told Fox News.

It is very fortunate Mr Trump survived the attempts on his life. Aside from the outrage of his death, I have no doubt that his killing would have unleashed chaos across America and much more bloodshed would have ensued.

I've spoken to Trump supporters who tell me they are prepared for a civil war if he loses on November 5, and his death would enrage millions of very well-armed individuals determined to direct their fury at the federal government.

Missing from the conversation has been almost any mention of the ready availability of battlefield-level weaponry in America. The suspect's rifle on Sunday had been fitted with a scope and was capable of firing many rounds per second. Similarly, the gunman who opened fire on Mr Trump at the July 13 rally in Pennsylvania had used his dad's AR-15, another military-style assault rifle.

But meaningful debate on gun control has essentially been shut down in America. Even Ms Harris – a California Democrat – has repeatedly noted that both her and Mr Walz are proud gun owners and aren't planning on taking anyone's firearms away.

None of it bodes well for the remaining few weeks before the election. It was perhaps best summed up by a senior Secret Service official on Sunday at a press conference following the Florida incident.

“We live in dangerous times,” he said.

A Homeland Security officer stands guard as Ryan Routh appears in court on Monday. EPA