What Now?

An assassination attempt alters the race.

On Saturday, a lone gunman attempted to kill the former President and current nominee of the Republican party.

An unprecedented election just became dramatically more complicated.

Before diving deeper into this, I think it's important to acknowledge how intense the past few weeks have been. The disastrous debate, Biden’s crashing poll numbers, internal fights over who the Democratic nominee should be, and now an assassination attempt on a political opponent captured live.

It’s a lot to take in, and personally, I’ve struggled with it all.

After hearing the news about Trump my brain was a constant stream of thoughts: What is going on? What role have messengers like us played in elevating the political discourse? What role should we play in turning it down? Do I feel sympathy for Donald Trump? Is it ok to still despise this man? Did he just get reelected? What do we do next?

That last question is what I want to discuss now. I’ll be honest, I don’t have a great answer, but I think it’s important that we start to move forward under this new reality. What follows is my humble attempt to do that.

Discourse Moving Forward

The description of the shooter: white male, early 20s, with a history of being bullied and easy access to weapons of mass destruction, is the exact description of past shooters that have attacked schools, parades, movie theaters, night clubs, and other politicians. The motives of this individual are unknown but probably not as political as many would like you to believe. For all we know, this shooter just chose the most dramatic target he could find, and nothing else is behind it.

With that said, a discussion around the political discourse in this country is inevitable after something like this.

Here is the bottom line: We all have agency in this. We can act and say things in a way that helps bring the temperature down. Or we can act and say things in a way that raises it.

It is under this contrast that we should assess people’s reactions.

President Biden and the Democratic party writ large have been a shining example of lowering the temperature. Statements from Barack Obama to AOC have called for calm. The Biden campaign pulled all its ads from TV. President Biden’s actions and statements have shown incredible leadership.

I am proud of how President Biden has acted at this moment, and I think we all should be.

I can’t say the same for many members of the Republican party. JD Vance, a likely Trump VP pick, blamed Biden:

Other Trump supporters like Elon Musk, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Congressman Mark Collins, Matt Walsh, and others blamed the media, women, DEI, and the deep state.

Some of this was an emotional reaction to a traumatic event. But most of this is a cynical ploy to flip Biden’s best argument against Trump’s extreme rhetoric.

We can’t let them get away with it. Divisive rhetoric has NOT been bipartisan. Democrats’ warnings of attacks on reproductive rights, democracy erosion, and Trump’s corruption are not the same as Trump’s false claims of election fraud and promises of “retribution.” Trump himself has reacted to attacks on Democrats, like Paul Pelosi, with mockery. This IS not a both-sides issue. So, while we all have a role to play in lowering the temperature, the blame should not be shared evenly.

Robert Reich articulated the difference in his recent substack.

Let me just say that in 2016, the Capitol police recorded fewer than 900 threats against members of Congress. In 2017, after Trump took office, that figure more than quadrupled, according to the Capitol police. The numbers continued to rise every year of the Trump presidency, peaking at 9,700 in 2021. In 2022, the first full year of Biden’s term, the numbers declined to a still-high 7,500. (The 2023 data is not yet available.)

Messaging Moving Forward

We can’t let up. We must continue to argue why President Biden has been a successful president and how a second Trump term would be disastrous for our country.

Project 2025, reproductive rights, judicial appointments, affordable healthcare, the climate, and our economy are still on the table.

But a new issue has emerged on the table. And that is stability.

What happened on Saturday was traumatic, and the whole country saw it. After events like this, people are looking for our leaders to bring calm and stability and to act responsibly and not further the division in our society.

This is a strength of President Biden, and so far, he has been leaning into it. Historically, this has NOT been Donald Trump's strength.

I believe the candidate who brings more calm, stability, and unison will win this election moving forward.

What we should do: Elevate Biden's recent comments about unity. Share clips of him bringing the country together, calling for calm and condemning the violence.

What we shouldn’t do: Dabble in conspiracy theories or victim blame.

The Republican convention starts Monday. According to some reports, the message to speakers was NOT to change a word about their speech. If this is true, this could be a critical mistake by them. If their convention is as divisive, angry, and hate-filled as expected, it could cause real damage.

We need to ensure that everyone sees the contrast between the rhetoric of Republicans and President Biden.