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A month ago in the small town of Butler, Pennsylvania, a would-be assassin’s bullet came within a whisker of changing not only the 2024 presidential election, but the course of American history.
The shocking shooting that killed Corey Comperatore, her husband and father, and injured two others remains a vivid and vivid image in the minds of many voters.
It feels like decades of politics have unfolded in the last 30 days, we have emerged from it in a very different place, and if the prelude is any indication, the next 84 days will hold no shortage of surprises.
When historians look back on this improbable election cycle, they will have to ask themselves, in addition to a strong drink, whether it was the assassination attempt, and not the debate disaster, that ultimately forced Biden to resign.
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When Trump took the stage that day, Joe Biden was still defiantly claiming he was the Democratic nominee, but once, by the grace of God, the bullet barely grazed the former president’s ear, all that was about to change.
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is moved off stage during a campaign rally, Saturday, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
In a Toledo restaurant, I watched with a small crowd as Trump stood with his face covered in blood, his fist raised, and chanted “Fight, fight, fight.” I’ve since seen his image printed on T-shirts across the country. At the time, one spectator declared, “That’s it, it’s over.”
But not so fast.
When historians look back on this improbable election cycle, they will have to ask themselves, in addition to a strong drink, whether it was the assassination attempt, and not the debate disaster, that ultimately forced Biden to resign.
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Regardless, just eight days after Trump’s assassination, and following a successful Republican National Convention, Democrats pulled the greatest stunt in American political history, and suddenly Trump found himself running against Vice President Kamala Harris.
For the liberal media, it was Christmas morning and their stockings were filled with glowing articles about Harris and plenty of excuses to forget the Butler shooting.
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As the assassination attempt faded into the media’s rearview mirror, the Democrats’ general tone shifted from accusing Trump of being Hitler, which may well have contributed to the assassination attempt, to their current “cheer campaign.”
But last weekend, when I spoke to voters about this near-miss, they were still in awe, with a slight anxiety in their eyes as they said, as so many do, “We were on the brink of a total crisis.”
While dodging a bullet is always a good thing, sooner or later the source of the shooting must be found and eliminated, and I am not talking about Thomas Matthew Crooks, about whom we still know almost nothing, but about a political environment of hatred and fear.
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In a country where so many people not only disagree but hate each other, the specter of political violence haunts elections, especially as we look cautiously toward next week’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
The next three months will be marked by a constant, staccato stream of daily events that will move the needles of the polls. Gaffes, scandals, political news, debates, the usual circus of the city, and yet the assassination attempt still looms over it all.
July 13, 2024 was a “where were you” moment, like the JFK assassination or the moon landing, and while things like Tim Walz’s stolen courage or JD Vance’s cat lady comments can quickly fade from the public’s mind, Trump’s shooting will not.
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A month ago, the nation changed, a certain innocence was lost, and everyone can feel it. The stakes of this election are no longer just about which side will win and set the policy, but also about whether we can coexist peacefully.
But one thing is certain: For millions of Americans who will go to the polls in November, one image from this election campaign will eclipse all others, and when they remember it, they will remember Trump’s call to fight, fight, fight.
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