Trump targeted again, but crass politics won't fix the Secret Service.
Here we go again.
Donald Trump was the target of a would-be assassin at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach Sunday and the Secret Service and local law enforcement responded appropriately. The suspect, Ryan Routh, was swiftly arrested on initial charges, a federal investigation began and a bipartisan panel in Congress scheduled hearings into both that apparent assassination attempt and the one that took place July 13 in Butler, Pa.
But that's not enough for politicos desperate for attention. Now is not the time for campaign rhetoric that not only divides us but only distracts from the more immediate challenges the Secret Service faces in protecting candidates like Donald Trump, in a society where easy access to firearms and military-style weapons makes violence an almost everyday occurrence.
Heated rhetoric detracts from 2024 campaigns
It didn't take long for Trump to turn the apparent attempt on his life into a political attack and a fundraising opportunity. He blamed the shooting on President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, arguing with no evidence to support his outrageous claim that the suspect acted on the Democrats' "highly inflammatory language" that Trump was a "threat to democracy." His campaign last week began seeking donations from $24 to $3,300.
"I'm not going to say conservatives always get things exactly right," JD Vance, the Republican vice presidential nominee said in defense of Trump's statements about violent rhetoric at an event in Atlanta. "But, no one has tried to kill Kamala Harris in the last couple of months, and two people now have tried to kill Donald Trump. I think that's pretty strong evidence that the left needs to tone down the rhetoric or somebody is going to get hurt."
Talk about irony and not helping. With a divided nation confronting a close election, Vance's scold could easily be interpreted not simply as a dog whistle but a clarion call for violence against the vice president.
Gov. Ron DeSantis did his part, too, in drumming up partisan outrage, by launching a state investigation to determine if Routh broke more serious state laws, including attempted murder. His executive order might be taken more seriously if his justification for the state probe didn't carry an all-too familiar anti-federal government bias.
"In my judgment, it's not in the best interests of the state or nation that the same federal agencies that are seeking to prosecute Donald Trump are leading this investigation, especially when the most straight forward offense constitutes a violation of state laws but not federal law," DeSantis said in announcing the state probe in West Palm Beach.
We question the abrupt decision to commit state resources to a state investigation more grandstanding than constructive, particularly when local authorities are already working with the FBI, the U.S. Justice Department, the Secret Service and federal prosecutors, to determine what led to the act and what the appropriate charges and penalties to ultimately levy on Roush.
The focus should be on determining if the Secret Service has the policies and resources it needs to simultaneously protect candidates, former presidents and the current president and vice-president. Obviously, changes to the agency budget and policies are needed but better performance won't come through hyped-up hearings and photo ops.
In an ideal world, playing politics would be the last thing a shocked nation would want after witnessing assassination attempts on a presidential candidate. The reality is quite different. With less than two months until Election Day, the politics now looks likely to get even more heated, raising the potential for more violence, the closer we get to Nov. 5.
We, like many others who don't always agree with Trump, are glad that he escaped harm. He and the rest of us now deserve a response that is as effective and nonpolitical as possible. There is a lot to unpack in Palm Beach County and Washington, D.C. but one thing should be crystal clear: This isn't the time for politicking but for seeking solutions.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Keep politics out of the second assassination attempt on Donald Trump
