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Writer's pictureAbby
Sep 304 min read

Targeting Trump: Rhetoric and Responsibility

An assassination attempt on a former president was something I never expected to witness in my lifetime, but two attempted assassinations within two months of each other seemed quite impossible. Accountability must be held, and individuals must be punished for the lack of protection that Donald Trump has received. These attempts are partly in correlation to the increased hateful rhetoric from the left, causing this election to be more polarizing than ever before. Many Democrats will blame Trump's rhetoric as reasoning for the assassination attempts, but what is truly to blame for the assassination attempts is polarization, communication failures, harmful rhetoric, and accountability issues. While arguments can be made for both, there is no reason this should have occurred, and the blame game is becoming quite ridiculous.  


Donald Trump's rhetoric is under constant scrutiny from the public, but no one holds others accountable the same way they hold Trump accountable. With the assassination attempts being a popular topic up for discussion lately, information has come out discussing comments made by democratic officials and press outlets that support the Harris-Walz campaign. To constantly refer to Trump as a  "threat to democracy" without any objective evidence of that puts Trump in an increasingly dangerous spot, especially when these remarks are made with no facts being presented besides his connections to Project 2025, which has been proven repeatedly to be nonexistent and just used to discredit him. Before the first assassination attempt, Biden tweeted, "So, we're done talking about the debate, it's time to put Trump in a bullseye." Around this time, a social media influencer, Harry Sisson, made a TikTok explaining how Biden could "send in the military to take out Trump." These statements should not be overlooked, and Democrats must understand their role in the political violence we are facing this election. Comments like those above can cause much more damage than intended, but accountability should be held.  

While both assassination attempts could have been handled better by the  United States Secret Service (USSS), the second assassination attempt was handled better than the first one. During the second assassination attempt, the Secret Service was faster with their response, luckily preventing shots from being fired at Trump. It is still concerning that, according to evidence presented by prosecutors, Routh had made a "sniper's nest" at the golf course. It makes you wonder how the USSS did not discover something like this earlier.


According to a quote by House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, "Authorities just acknowledged if President Trump were president, they'd do more to protect him,".

With an assassination attempt occurring only two months before, how was more security not put in place? The area was not adequately surveyed before and should not have covered only the holes surrounding Trump, but also the entire course and surrounding areas. Did the first assassination attempt, along with him being a former president and current presidential candidate, not give enough reason for him to receive more protection?  


Some claim the problem can be blamed on the lack of funding the Secret Service has. Officials state that the funding does not cover enough protection for everyone who needs it. Many lawmakers question these remarks, as the budget for the USSS has continued to increase over the last ten years. The USSS should receive additional funding if they do not feel they can adequately care for the individuals who need protection. However, they must also be forthcoming about such events, which they have lacked. Chairman Comer shared his frustrations in the "Oversight of the U.S. Secret Service and the Attempted Assassination of President Donald J. Trump" hearing when he expressed how he wants answers from the Secret Service. However, they are "instead learning about new facts about the events surrounding the attempted assassination every day from whistleblowers and leaks." As an American, it is terrifying to see the individuals in charge of protecting our government officials cannot be honest and open when missteps are taken and harm is done. 


Communication seems to play a significant role in the mishaps that have occurred and caused such horrific events to take place. When Acting Secret Service Director Ronald  Rowe Jr. testified at a joint hearing on July 30, 2024, he discussed how "communications were split between radio and phone, resulting in a delayed response to the initial alert that something was going on at the AGR building," He blamed these issues for their late response during the first assassination attempt. When you are protecting high-profile individuals, there is no room for mistakes. While no one is perfect, there must be a higher standard set to prevent these acts of violence. The miscommunications of the Secret Service almost cost a former president his life. We cannot afford for this to continue to happen, and America needs to be able to feel that our government officials are safe in the care of the USSS.  

Elections have always been a time where polarization occurs because of differing viewpoints. However, we must step up as Americans to be a united country of individuals with different political views who can also respect those who disagree. The increased violent rhetoric cannot continue to slide, and Americans must understand that while you can disagree with others, wishing death upon a Presidential candidate should never be acceptable. In the future, I look forward to seeing how the USSS will improve to minimize the chances that we will ever face such a horrific event again.




Photo Credit: Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

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