NO place for violence in politics. So said President Joe Biden, many US politicians and political leaders across the globe including President Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif when condemning the attempted assassination attack on former President Donald Trump. A political analyst on a US television channel wondered: ‘How can this happen in the US?’ Instead, he should have asked, ‘Why would anyone be surprised by this?’ The reality is that violence that has been a part of the political process in many third-world countries for a long time has for the last few decades crept into many western democracies.
In the US, political violence has a long history. Four Presidents were assassinated while in office – Abraham Lincoln in 1865, James Garfield in 1881, William McKinley in 1901 and John F. Kennedy in 1963. Three Presidents were wounded but survived assassination attempts, while in office or afterward – Theodore Roosevelt in 1912, Gerald Ford was unhurt in 1975 and Ronald Reagan in 1981. In addition, Robert F. Kennedy, a presidential candidate, was assassinated in 1968 and Alabama Governor George C. Wallace was shot in 1982 and became paralyzed from the waist down.
The roots of political violence in the US can be traced back to the American Civil War of the 1860s, however in the modern-day US the rise of political violence can be attributed to the civil rights movement of the 1960s when people who were in power at that time felt that their power was threatened. When the democratic political process to find a solution and consensus did not seem to work for them, they turned to violence to protect their status. Since then, polarization in the political landscape intensified on the ideological lines of conservatism and liberalism. Identity, culture and social issues, not economic issues, became fault lines between the warring groups. They started seeing each other as enemies rather than opponents with different views.
In recent years, US Representative of Arizona Gabrielle Giffords survived an attempted assassination in 2011, when she was shot in the head. In 2017 House Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana was seriously injured when he was shot during a baseball practice. His attacker was a known Trump critic. In October 2020, just days before the presidential elections in November, authorities busted an elaborate scheme to kidnap the Democratic Governor of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer. They arrested 13 people linked with a right-wing militia group.
Since Donald Trump came on the political scene to contest the 2016 presidential election the tone and language of political rhetoric changed drastically. He ridiculed his Republican Party rivals and defeated several strong Republican candidates for the Party nomination despite widespread skepticism about the truthfulness of his statements. He then rachet up his rhetoric further and used increasingly vile, derogatory and dehumanizing language against his rivals. This inspired his base of disenchanted voters who considered themselves abandoned by the establishment politicians of both parties. His tactic helped him narrowly win the election and occupy the White House in 2017.
Domestically, Trump’s presidency had tumultuous four years with social unrest due to his administration’s policies on issues such as racism, policing, education, guns, immigration and the erosion of democratic values. Some of the major protest events that occurred during Trump’s presidency include ‘Black Lives Matter,’ Charlottesville riots between far-right and far-left groups and Covid restriction protests. This further polarized American society and raised the temperature of political debate. A poll conducted in March 2024 found that 20% of US adults believe Americans may have to resort to violence to get their own country back on track.
The popularity of social media greatly helped extremist groups to organize and coordinate their activities and raise funds. Once on the fringes of the political landscape these groups now operate in the centre field. There was always a small percentage of Americans who were suspicious of the government and its institutions. Conspiracy theories on the dark web and the spread of fake videos and images further fuelled the distrust of government institutions and led people to take matters into their own hands.
Americans usually do soul-searching after every high-profile political violence event. There will be calls for unity, empathy for the victims and those affected and calls for lowering the tone of political rhetoric. Multiple investigations will be launched and the chances are that their reports will not necessarily satisfy everyone. Conspiracy theories will cast doubts on the findings. It is time for Americans to bring in a new generation of political leaders with moderate views who can bring back sobriety in political discourse. Decent people can disagree with each other without resorting to violence.
—The writer is a retired engineer, based in Canada.
