As I write, America still doesn't know why a man attempted to assassinate Donald Trump on Saturday evening. We have little clarity about the gunman's motivation and his plans beyond targeting the former president. We need significantly more answers about the security failures that put Trump in danger. What is clear: Political violence should always be condemned. It is a mercy and a miracle that President Trump is still alive, and a tragedy that Corey Comperatore, a father of two, died protecting his family. As the editorial board wrote Saturday, violence is antithetical to democracy. An attack on Donald Trump or any political participant is an attack on all of us who believe in democratic norms and the power of the American political experiment. Politics today too often brings out the worst in us when it should bring out the best: The thing that unites Americans — the thing for which we're known across the world and in the history books — is the novel agreement to work out our differences in peace through representative democracy. "Ballots, not bullets," the editorial board wrote, "should always be the means by which Americans work through their differences." Today, the Republican National Convention will begin in Milwaukee, so it is also worth noting that Thomas Matthew Crooks, the gunman in Pennsylvania, does not represent Americans who oppose a second Trump presidency. It sadly can be expected that, over the next four days, Republicans and others will try to assert differently, blaming critiques of Trump or those sounding the alarm about the threat he poses to democracy for this awful attack. This will coarsen the public discourse, not strengthen it. Last week, Times Opinion began publishing a project to look back at Trump's record as president, and explain why his next term won't be the same as his first. The print edition of Sunday Opinion is prepared days before it shows up on newsstands, and the July 14 section was finalized and printed before the events of Saturday evening. There is no connection between our prior decision to run this editorial package in print and Saturday's incident — we would have changed our plans if we could have. (Indeed, we have held off on further online publication for the time being.) There will be readers of this newsletter who think taking this moment to defend criticism of the former president is in poor taste — and I respect that viewpoint — but I believe the stakes of the 2024 presidential election have little precedent. Being cleareyed is essential as the country hurtles toward Nov. 5. That's important because we can be confident that this assassination attempt will change the course of the nation and its citizenry — as Patti Davis, the daughter of Ronald Reagan beautifully reminded us Sunday — on both the collective and individual level. After years of the threat of political violence growing, how our futures are affected will be up to America. Let's all hope that we're closer to the dawn than the darkness. Read more from Opinion: Here's what we're focusing on today:
We hope you've enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times. Games Here are today's Mini Crossword, Wordle and Spelling Bee. If you're in the mood to play more, find all our games here. Forward this newsletter to friends to share ideas and perspectives that will help inform their lives. They can sign up here. Do you have feedback? Email us at opiniontoday@nytimes.com. If you have questions about your Times account, delivery problems or other issues, visit our Help Page or contact The Times.
|
Monday, July 15, 2024
Opinion Today: The assassination attempt on Trump is an attack on every American
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment