Now it’s up to Trump to ensure that cooler heads prevail

Editorial: When Donald Trump goes to the Republican National Convention to accept formally the nomination of his party, he and he alone will have the authority to dispel the conspiracy theories and the mood for revenge affecting many of his most devoted supporters

One attendee at the rally died in the shooting, and two more were critically injured (AFP via Getty)

The image captured by Associated Press photographer Evan Vucci in the immediate aftermath of the assassination attempt on Donald Trump is historic.

Not only does it tell the story of those few moments: it also points to their lasting impact. Against an azure sky, framed by Secret Service personnel, the blood-spattered face of the former president has a look of resolution, his fist raised to the air in an act of defiance.

The composition is such a powerful, immediate one that it bears comparison to those sadly famous frames from the Zapruder footage of the murder of John F Kennedy. With the star-spangled banner seeming to float in the air above, it is even vaguely reminiscent of another great celebrated image: the raising of the flag at Iwo Jima in 1945. It is a Trump campaign poster waiting to be printed.

One attendee at the rally died in the shooting, and two more were critically injured. The former president’s escape with only relatively minor injuries showed just how close America came to another national tragedy, this time in Butler, Pennsylvania rather than Dallas, Texas.

Trump has said that it was “God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening”, but his own instincts, too, played a part. The video clips show that Trump reacted immediately to what he knew was happening, and ducked. Otherwise, as he put it, “the unthinkable” would have happened. In those seconds of extreme crisis, and personal trauma, Trump displayed great bravery.

He has also, rightly, been generous in praising the selfless valour of the individual Secret Service agents who leapt upon him and led him to safety. The wider performance of the Secret Service on this occasion has, however, been subject to scrutiny, with some uncomfortable questions being asked about how Thomas Matthew Crooks was able to get so close to his target, and how some of the people in the crowd managed to raise the alarm before those who were supposed to be protecting Trump.

The image of a defiant Trump under the American flag is a campaign poster waiting to be printed (AP)

With all the witnesses, the modern technology, and the smartphone and TV videos, it should be possible for the FBI to reconstruct exactly what happened and why. What may prove harder to discern is the motivation of Crooks. Again, the FBI should be allowed the time and space to reach its conclusions.

Trump has often been accused of using inflammatory language, but his statements since his attempted murder have been measured and statesmanlike: “We pray for the recovery of those who were wounded, and hold in our hearts the memory of the citizen who was so horribly killed. In this moment, it is more important than ever that we stand United, and show our True Character as Americans, remaining Strong and Determined, and not allowing Evil to Win.”

Such temperate sentiments certainly stand in contrast to those of one of his putative vice-presidential running mates, JD Vance, who declared on social media: “The central premise of the Biden campaign is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs. That rhetoric led directly to President Trump’s attempted assassination.” Another congressman stated, absurdly and recklessly, that “Joe Biden sent the orders.”

When Trump attends the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee to accept formally the nomination of his party, he and he alone will have the authority to dispel the conspiracy theories and the mood for revenge affecting many of his most devoted supporters.

It is still going to be a long and sometimes bitter campaign, with opinions polarised and the electorate almost evenly divided. Those evocative images of Trump from the past hours will no doubt boost his image and his chances of winning, stirring up feelings of sympathy and admiration in the hearts of many voters.

But Trump’s policies are not going to change because of the attempt on his life (and nor should they), and the fresh immunities from criminal prosecution awarded to him by the Supreme Court remain in place, with all that might entail.

The basic choices facing the American people remain the same: on the economy, on abortion, on climate change, on migration, on gun control, on the wars in Gaza and the Ukraine, and on much else. Their debates and their choices should be allowed to happen in peace.