Fanning the flames: political violence in Trump’s America
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What recent events highlight political violence in Trump's America?
I've studied assassinations, and I must tell you, the most impactful people, the people that do the most, you take a look at the people, Abraham Lincoln.
This is Donald Trump comparing himself to Abraham Lincoln and JFK.
The people that do the most, the people that make the biggest impact, they're the ones that they go after.
The president became the likely target of an alleged shooter who charged a security point armed with guns and knives. For a moment, the White House Correspondents' Dinner continued, the president and his guests seemingly unaware, until the Secret Service pulled Trump from the stage and formed a human shield around him.
The mood has obviously changed with this sudden development of potentially shots. when it appears to be shots fired at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. We saw more and more law enforcement officers racing up the aisle straight towards the president. We were told, get down, get down, and that's when everyone got under the tables. We've been here before.
How has Trump compared himself to historical figures like Lincoln and JFK?
The attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. Gunfire erupting at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The former president was rushed off the stage right now with Secret Service. He's being escorted into his vehicle.
This is the third alleged assassination attempt on Donald Trump in two years.
I don't care how many people you have, how good they are. They can be the greatest people. You have the greatest security in history. If you have a whack job who's got a brain, but it's a little bit distorted or a lot distorted, they can make trouble.
I'm Nicole Johnston and you're listening to 7am.
What was the significance of the White House Correspondents' Dinner incident?
Today, Sydney Morning Herald columnist and former assistant managing editor of NPR in Washington, Bill Wyman, on America's surge in political violence, what's behind it and is Trump both a target and provocateur? It's Tuesday, April 28th. Bill, you've written about how political violence is always alive in America, hidden just out of sight. So did the events at the White House Correspondents' Dinner come as a surprise to you, or was there almost a certain inevitability that this was bound to happen again at some point?
That's such a good question. What always happens to these things, it is surprising, of course, it's shocking just by definition. And at the same time, just increasingly, I think we all sort of feel, uh-oh, here we go again. We've seen this movie before. As listeners probably know, though, the Washington Hilton is a very tragic place in American political history because that's where Ronald Reagan was nearly assassinated not too long after he took office in, I guess it was early 1981, right? People might not know it's just a kilometer or two from the White House. It's in basically downtown D.C. It's a very distinctive curved hotel. So in a weird way, it's not that surprising because it is a very high profile event.
This is the third sort of high profile sort of grand guignol one we've seen of Trump. But a lot of these happen and they basically could happen any time American president is under under fire. And boy, I'm sure it's the same in Australia, but it really wasn't that long ago that presidents could walk the streets. You used to be able to drive. I remember as a kid just driving right in front of the White House. But of course, that street is now closed down. And there used to be Harry Truman, which was what, in the late 1940s, early 1950s, used to go on a constitutional every morning with reporters.
How does political violence in America reflect on Trump's presidency?
So there was a time not too long ago when presidents actually moved about in a much more easy way.
So this is the third assassination attempt on Trump in less than two years. There was so much focus on Trump's response to the Pennsylvania attack when he pumped his fist and shouted, fight, fight, fight. But how would you compare and describe Trump's response this time round? And do you think that President Trump and the MAGA world will try to capitalize on this politically?
Well, yes. I mean, that's definitely true. That's just what they do. The funniest thing is that one of the things that the right wing in America does very, very well, and that Australia's, I think, tries to emulate sometimes is, boy, do they get on message.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What recent events highlight political violence in Trump's America?
0:01–1:06
2
How has Trump compared himself to historical figures like Lincoln and JFK?
1:06–1:45
3
What was the significance of the White House Correspondents' Dinner incident?
1:45–3:44
4
How does political violence in America reflect on Trump's presidency?
3:44–6:11
5
What historical context is important for understanding political violence in America?
6:11–8:52
6
What role does gun culture play in the rise of political violence?
8:52–10:49
7
How has rhetoric from political leaders influenced violence?
10:49–13:07
8
What predictions can be made about future political violence in America?
13:07–15:06