The Shot Heard Round the World: Assassination Attempt on Donald Trump

Evan Vucci | AP

Calling the 2024 Presidential Election unprecedented would be an understatement. Not only has the current President dropped out of the race and endorsed his Vice President, Kamala Harris, but less than a week before, there was an assassination attempt on the life of former President Donald Trump.

On July 13th, at a rally in Pennsylvania, a gunman, positioned on top of a nearby building, shot at Trump, grazing his ear in the process. The attempted assassin killed one, a man named Corey Comperatore, who was a 50-year-old volunteer firefighter and father. Two more people were wounded at the rally while the shooter came startlingly close to killing the former president.

CNN News

The gunman, identified later as 20-year-old Pennsylvanian Thomas Crooks, was shot and killed on-site by a Secret Service sniper. Crooks was a registered Republican, and many of his former classmates shared with BBC that Crooks was very intelligent but a loner who was often bullied.

   As the Secret Service continues to investigate the nature and motivation of Crooks’ crimes, the American people are left wondering: how was this able to happen?

Several witnesses at the rally noticed a man posted on the roof, who is now known as the attempted assassin. The Secret Service also recognized the suspicious nature of the man’s position, and members of the Secret Service were in the stairwell of the building in question when the man opened fire. Crooks shot seven times before a Secret Service sniper shot and killed him. 

The question remains: How was Thomas Crooks able to pass the Secret Service’s security with an AR-15 and position himself on that roof in the first place? The Director of the Secret Service, Kimberly Cheatle, has admitted that the service has failed.

Kimberly Cheatle took responsibility for the security breach at the Pennsylvania rally and officially resigned from her position on July 15th, two days after the shooting. However, the shooting has caused people to doubt the Secret Service’s abilities, especially concerning security at the Republican National Convention.

Kent Nishimura | Getty Images

The Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, which began a mere three days after the shooting, showed Trump’s supporters’ reaction to the assassination attempt. During the four-day convention, audience members were seen wearing bandages over the ear to match Trump’s bandage. Trump’s loyal supporters view the attack as another obstacle Trump has had to overcome to ‘Make America Great Again’ as his famous slogan promises.

While experts at Vox and the New York Times believe that the assassination attempt will boost Trump’s ratings in the short term, they will steadily return to normal, in a similar fashion to Ronald Reagan’s approval ratings after the assassination attempt on his life in 1981.

While the shooting may not dramatically affect the upcoming presidential election, it will affect the future of security and the Secret Service. As our nation becomes more politically and socially polarized, politicians and lawmakers will be increasingly targeted by extremists on both sides of the aisle. 

For the safety of the nation’s democracy, the events of the Pennsylvania rally mustn't be repeated. No matter political affiliation, politicians are more at risk than ever. It is clear after recent events that the Secret Service will need to urgently adapt to new challenges to keep the country’s leaders safe. Improved security measures are not just a necessity but a moral imperative.