Shooting may shift the arc of history
The bullet of an assassin forever altered the course of our lives and world events. That bullet was fired on June 28, 1914, killing Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, and ignited a world conflagration that consumed eight million lives. That murder took place in Europe, which was, at the time, a tinderbox.
The bullet of a would-be assassin at a Pennsylvania rally may have elected Donald Trump and altered the arc of American and world history. Political violence can never be acceptable: violence ever begets violence. In this powder-keg environment, the attempt on Trump’s life could easily set off a chain of violent reactions and counter-reactions. Had the former President died, the United States might well have been in a state of civil conflict by now.
This moment might be a wake-up call to the country to reject violence; but conspiracists on the left and right are hard at work fomenting greater chaos. The shooting confirms the Maga and evangelical Christian narrative of Trump as a victim, martyr and saviour. His authentically heroic moment on the stage when he rose bloodied and defiant with his fist raised is an indelible image that will become the equivalent of the Iwo Jima flag-raising for the Republican campaign. It may well seal the election for Trump. We now have the split screen of a reality-denying and diminished Joe Biden in contention with the newly minted heroism of Trump. The United States is now facing the distinct possibility of a Trump landslide, along with the loss of the Senate.
The monolithic control of three branches of government – including a wave of lifetime judicial appointments – headed by a dictatorial ruler with de-facto absolute immunity would mean the end of democracy in the US and the eclipse of freedom in the world. To quote Biden’s catchphrase: “This is not hyperbole”. Vladimir Putin has been running out the clock, as has Benjamin Netanyahu, in the hope of Trump 2.0.