Political fallout, fault lines form in wake of Trump rally shooting

Former President Donald Trump had hardly been hustled into an armored SUV after an apparent assassination attempt when the political wrangling began.

Supporters of the former president championed Trump for his defiance, pumping his fist with blood running down his cheek. His critics were startled, questioning what happened and fearing what would happen next.

In a knife's-edge presidential race, no one knows yet the political fallout of the shooting.

"Right now, I would say that Trump is going to benefit from this assassination attempt," said Andrea Bitely, a political consultant who worked for former Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette. "But it's a long time from now until November. There's a lot of things that could happen over the next few months that could erase that bump or increase that bump."

Bitely said in politics, nothing happens in a vacuum. The shooting comes just two weeks after a poor debate performance by President Joe Biden prompted calls for him to exit the race so another candidate could challenge Trump.

Biden called on all Americans to condemn the shooting and said “It's sick. It's sick.”

“Look, there’s no place in America for this kind of violence,” Biden said.

But Trump supporters on social media were highlighting a Monday story in Politico, which reported Biden told donors on a phone call: “I have one job, and that’s to beat Donald Trump. I’m absolutely certain I’m the best person to be able to do that. So, we’re done talking about the debate, it’s time to put Trump in a bullseye.”

Details were slow to emerge from the Trump rally in Butler County, Pennsylvania, north of Pittsburgh.

A Secret Service spokesman confirmed that one person who attended the rally was dead, as was a person suspected of firing at Trump. The FBI is characterizing it as an assassination attempt. The identity of the suspected shooter and the motive were not yet known in the hours after the shooting, but online speculation followed the deep political divisions that have marked this race since the beginning.

Trump was rushed to a nearby hospital but appeared to have escaped serious injury. He later announced on Truth Social that he heard a whizzing sound and felt a bullet tear through his right ear.

Trump thanked law enforcement for their quick response and offered condolences to the family of the person who was killed.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, herself the target of a violent kidnapping plot in 2020, denounced the attack.

“There is no place for political violence in this country, period. This is not how we solve our differences,” Whitmer said in a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter “I am horrified to learn of this news, and we will be following the situation closely. I am grateful for those in law enforcement who stepped in immediately.”

Third-party presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose father was assassinated as he ran for president in 1968, urged restraint in the wake of the shooting.

“Now is the time for every American who loves our country to step back from the division, renounce all violence, and unite in prayer for President Trump and his family,” Kennedy said in a statement on X.

Newsweek reported this week that Kennedy’s repeated requests for Secret Service protection while he campaigns have been denied.

Bitely said the shooting is likely to alter the way candidates interact with the public going forward. She said she wouldn't be surprised to see more indoor events where security can be more tightly controlled. It might also change the public's willingness to attend political events.

"We've all been impacted in some way by gun violence, whether it be in a school setting or in a neighborhood or in many different ways," Bitely said. "But having someone attempt to assassinate a former president, potentially future president on national television is something that most people have never experienced in their life. And hopefully, we'll never have to again. We've now entered a different, darker portion of the political arena that I think many of us are in politics have been worried about for a long time."

USA TODAY contributed to this report.

Contact John Wisely: [email protected]

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Trump rally shooting: Political fallout is just beginning