Once Was Too Much
The systemic failures that led Donald Trump to be shot in Pennsylvania—with one supporter killed and two more injured—were unthinkable then and now. Surely such a thing would not happen again.
Or at least that’s what we wanted to believe before last Sunday afternoon. I recall seeing an email statement from the Trump campaign assuring us the President was fine following gunshots in his vicinity; that was the first any news organization knew about the second assassination attempt, the Trump campaign issuing a brief statement that gave no details.
My first thought was that it was unrelated to Trump; he hangs out in cities, there are lots of gunshots heard in cities. But before long, we knew that a second person in two months—this one clearly identified with the anti-Trump left—had a meticulous plan to kill the former and perhaps-future president…and we knew just how vulnerable Trump was.
I can only imagine the Pennsylvania shooting, and the resultant information about how lax the security plan was, gave no end of folks the idea that they could be the one with better aim, a better plan. One of those no doubt opted for killing Trump on his own golf course as his ticket to immortality; he even had his camera set up to record the occasion, as twisted as that sounds.
Once was too much, twice is unconscionable…but sadly, we now expect there will likely be a third attempt on Mr. Trump’s life. Not like the rhetoric has calmed, not like cooler heads have prevailed…and certainly not like those formulating security plans have figured out how to do their jobs.
This again leads us to think the unthinkable—what if someone on “the inside” is in on the plan? That Sunday golf match was not public information, and apparently came together somewhat quickly.
Frankly, it’s hard to fathom any of it. All that is clear is that once was too much, and the nonchalant attitude of so many about it is concerning. Because we should never “get used to” one of our nation’s leaders being taken out like that.
