“Why do people think the best way to defeat their political enemies is to point a gun at them?” asks political scientist

Ryan Routh, suspected of an assassination attempt against Donald Trump last week in West Palm Beach, Florida, is appearing for the second time on Monday. Rarely has a campaign been marked by such a level of violence.

On stage at the Cobb Energy Center in Atlanta, Georgia, the southern state of the United States that is one of the key pivots in this American presidential election, Kamala Harris makes her entrance to the applause of the crowd on September 20.

In the room, his supporters and the Secret Service agents, there, near the stage, at the back of the room. And then, here, in the middle of the audience, the sheriff, there police officers, outside snipers, who are discreet. The place and time of the rally were kept secret almost until the last minute.

For political scientist Andra Gillespie, the United States has entered a worrying phase. “We have never had a presidential election where one of the candidates escaped two assassination attempts, and this, in such a short timeshe points out. One has to wonder about how easy it is to acquire a gun in the United States? It also raises questions about mental illness, but it also raises questions about political violence… Why do people think that the best way to defeat their political enemies is to point a gun at them? “It is certainly a very sad fact that we have reached this point,” concludes the political scientist.

Tiffany, for her part, is angry. This Democrat can’t believe that Donald Trump hasn’t budged on his gun control stance. “What kind of pressure could that have put on him? ? They try to kill him, and he acts like nothing happened. ? If someone did that to you, you wouldn’t want it to change. ? You wouldn’t want to put limits on someone who can do that to you. ?”

In Atlanta, the city of Martin Luther King, assassinated in 1968 in Memphis, a center is dedicated to the principles of nonviolence. Luis Gardenal came to visit the museum. Since the attack on Donald Trump in Pennsylvania in July, he no longer wants to go to political meetings. “I was at work when it happened. You know, it’s like people remembering where they were on September 11th. I thought, ‘Is this for real?’ And then when the second assassination attempt happened, I thought, ‘Well, this wasn’t an isolated incident, and I think it’s leading to more of these, and that’s what worries me about what’s coming next.”

Lorena, his wife, no longer knows what to think.

“At one point I said to myself: ‘Isn’t violence the solution? It sent a strong and determined message.”

Lorena, an Atlanta resident

to franceinfo

“It’s scary to think about it and ask yourself, like, do I want this? ?continues Lorena. Of course not. You don’t want to kill anyone but damn, that was a strong message…” Lorena stops, then makes an embarrassed face, as if embarrassed by her own contradictions.