In the weeks after 9/11 almost 23 years ago, America experienced a rare unity where partisan differences evaporated in a shared sense of mourning and outrage. A similar solidarity was felt early in the COVID-19 pandemic, when for a few weeks, the country felt like it was facing an unknown threat together.
Last night’s shocking attack on former President Donald Trump has created a similar unifying moment as a nation where partisan hostilities were momentarily paused as leaders of many backgrounds expressed shared concern and condemnation at a common threat.
Diverse leaders respond to the shooting
Immediate statements were issued not only by Republican leaders, but also by a string of prominent Democrats, including Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., who said in part, “My thoughts and prayers are with former President Trump,” and President Joe Biden, who said, “I’m praying for him and his family and for all those who were at the rally.”
Liz Cheney, a vocal Republican critic of Trump, stated that people should “pray for the former president and all those injured,” adding that “violence of any kind has no place in American politics.”
In remarks soon after the event, Biden twice called the former president by his first name, and spoke of wanting to get him on the phone: “I have tried to get a hold of Donald. He’s with his doctors. Apparently, he is doing well.” The president did later speak with the former president.
Biden calls for a ‘pause’ on ‘proactive campaign communication across all platforms’
The Biden campaign announced it would pull down television ads “as quickly as possible,” and emailed staffers asking them to “refrain from issuing any comments on social media or in public” and “pause any proactive campaign communication across all platforms and in all circumstances” until more information came to light.
Utah Sen. Mike Lee and Ambassador Robert O’Brien, former U.S. national security adviser during Trump’s administration, released a joint statement calling for the country to “take the political temperature down” and asking Biden to “immediately order that all federal criminal charges against President Trump be dropped, and to ask the governors of New York and Georgia to do the same.”
“Such a gesture would help heal wounds and allow all Americans to take a deep breath and reflect on how we got here,” they said.
Back in May, Sen. Mitt Romney also suggested Biden should have pardoned Trump and press New York prosecutors not to pursue Trump’s trial after the Justice Department brought indictments against the former president.
While it’s not clear whether Biden’s administration would take such a step, his words the night of the event were a clear plea to the nation: “There’s no place for this kind of violence in America. We must unite as one nation to condemn it.”
“Everybody must condemn it.”
Trump calls for Americans to ‘stand United’
In his own statement, Trump himself said in part, “In this moment, it is more important than ever that we stand United, and show our True Character as Americans.”
To see the former president bloodied was upsetting to many across the political spectrum, including those not supporting his campaign to return to the White House.
Reaching for higher unity
And there were glimpses of higher unity at the rally itself, as one woman attending the rally reported, “Everybody stood together and everybody screamed out the Father’s prayer and everybody prayed together. That was amazing. That was something that was beautiful.”
Unfortunately, some rallygoers started to menace journalists soon after the shooting according to NPR — causing some reporters to fear for their safety. The National Press Club issued a statement earlier that day, calling for speakers at the GOP convention to refrain from “language that could inflame those in the streets against journalists.”
This sense of unity will undoubtedly be short-lived for many. Within hours, some were insisting Biden’s statement from Monday that “it’s time to put Trump in a bullseye” somehow played a role, with Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, asserting that Democratic rhetoric had “led directly to President Trump’s attempted assassination.”
Deescalating the division
Yet even when partisan hostilities sweep back to surround us all, there’s something important to be learned from this pause. If nothing else, it’s a reminder that it’s possible to do something different. We’ve actually got it in us as a people!
A number of faith and political leaders encouraged the nation to use this moment as a chance to rethink the direction the country is going. Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, called for “an end to political violence, which is never a solution to political disagreements. We ask all people of goodwill to join us in praying for peace in our country.”
“At a time like this we are not Democrats or Republicans,” said the Rev. Jack Graham. “We are Americans praying against the evil works of darkness.” The Rev. Adam Phillips likewise called on Americans of both parties and of “no particular party — to deescalate that which divides us.”
Although it’s been 33 years since an attempt was made on the life of a president (1981 against Ronald Reagan), America has seen a steady uptick in acts of politically-motivated violence over the last decade, including attacks on Democratic Rep. Gabby Giffords (2011 in Tucson), Republican Rep. Steve Scalise and five others at a Congressional baseball game (2017 in Virginia), security forces at the U.S. Capitol (2021 in Washington D.C.), and Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s husband (2022 in San Francisco) — along with ongoing threats on the lives of Supreme Court justices and a striking increase in threats against federal judges across the nation.
An opportunity to recommit
After last night’s attack, former President Barack Obama called for Americans to “use this moment to recommit ourselves to civility and respect in our politics,” adding that “Michelle and I are wishing (former President Trump) a quick recovery.”
“Now is the time for every American who loves our country to step back from the division, renounce all violence and unite in prayer for President Trump and his family,” stated Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an independent presidential candidate whose father was assassinated while campaigning for president.
This attack “can turn into a moment of healing and unity” for the country if Americans “realize what is at stake,” suggested Republican Sen. Ron Johnson on CNN Sunday morning.
“I think the greatest threat to America right now is the fact that we’re horribly divided,” the Wisconsin leader said — emphasizing that Republicans love America, and Democrats do too.
That’s a “good place to start the healing and unification of this country. We need to understand that about each other.”
A time for ‘sober self-reflection’
“It is up to all Americans now to make sure the violence ends in Butler, Pennsylvania,” the Deseret News Editorial Board declared yesterday — calling for “sober self-reflection” and urging all Americans to pray for our “better angels to emerge,” while resisting the temptation to “answer violence with violence” and to “answer anger with anger.”
“We cannot be like this,” Biden reiterated. “Look, there is no place in America for this kind of violence. It’s sick, it’s sick. It’s one of the reasons why we have to unite this country. We cannot allow for this to be happening.”
A “central lesson” of 9/11, Biden said on the 20th anniversary the terrorist attacks, was that “unity is our greatest strength” and “what makes us who we are — America at its best.”
May we hold on to the same lesson after last night’s assassination attempt. And let’s not forget it this time as quickly.