What we should remember from the attack on Trump

First, the shock. Then, the sigh of relief. It was so close – just a few millimeters – for former US President Donald Trump to be assassinated on Saturday.

It would have been terrible for democracy if the fate of the next American election had been determined by a lone killer rather than by the entire American population who will go to the polls on November 5.

With a step back, we must now hope that this attack will open our eyes to the very serious dangers that threaten democracy in a political world at loggerheads.

Both Joe Biden and Donald Trump have been lofty in calling for the nation to remain united. Such a rallying cry, despite the divide that divides the United States, is welcome. Ally or adversary, no one should rejoice in the political violence that can strike all sides.

Two years ago, it was the husband of Democrat Nancy Pelosi, then Speaker of the US House of Representatives, who was savagely attacked with a hammer by a man who broke into their home.

Canada is not immune to this rumbling violence.

We must not forget that the first woman elected in the history of Quebec, Pauline Marois, was the target of an attack while she was giving her victory speech at the Métropolis in 2012. The shooter, who wanted to “kill as many separatists as possible”, shot dead a technician and seriously injured another.

Who knows how the evening would have ended if his gun hadn’t jammed.

At the federal level, death threats against elected officials have increased in recent years, while politicians have been the target of several hateful events.

During the last election campaign, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was pelted with rocks by a man who received a three-month suspended sentence.

In 2022, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was threatened while riding in an elevator by an angry man who shouted insults at her over COVID-19 health measures.

And last April, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly had to defend herself when she was chased down a sidewalk by a man who claimed that his “job” was to “harass” her about the plight of the Palestinians.

Where was the security? In Quebec, all ministers have a bodyguard. It is not normal for key ministers of a G7 country to be forced to defend themselves. They are playing with fire.

All these sad events, on both sides of the border, should lead to an awareness of the dangers of the political divide that is poisoning our society.

In his address to the nation, President Joe Biden urged everyone to “turn down the temperature.” It would be desirable for Donald Trump to make the same call, to extinguish a noxious desire for revenge.

In the aftermath of the attack, many Republicans threw fuel on the fire.

JD Vance, who some see as Donald Trump’s future vice president, has blamed Democrats for the attack, even though the killer’s motives remain unclear.

On social media, he explained that Joe Biden’s rhetoric, wanting Donald Trump to be an “authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs”, led “directly to the attempted assassination of President Trump”. Republican Representative Mike Collins even added that Joe Biden should be charged “for incitement to assassinate”.

But who exactly is flirting with inciting violence?

Last March, Donald Trump posted a vile video on social media showing the back of a van displaying the image of a tied-up Joe Biden, which gave the impression that the president was truly lying like a hostage in the box of the vehicle.

Regardless of the camp, the lying and hateful comments that pollute social networks create unhealthy echo chambers that dig trenches between the camps and kill the dialogue essential to social cohesion.

In the United States, more than 80% of voters, both Democrats and Republicans, believe that democracy will be weakened if the opposing party wins.

Even more worrying, a significant portion of the American population now believes that the use of violence is justified to bring about or prevent a change of power. And both Joe Biden and Donald Trump are seen as a threat.

Let’s be realistic: the political joust will always be based on adversity between the parties. But the tone would benefit from being more civilized, in Canada as in the United States.

This is true for citizens who throw rocks and death threats at elected officials. It is also true for politicians who poison the political climate by calling each other extremists, radicals or “wackos.”

Hatred and aggression can only lead to an even darker future for democracy.