Donald Trump enters Republican convention hall with a bandaged ear and gets a hero’s welcome

Donald Trump has made a dramatic return to the public eye  two days after his assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, — which left the gunman (20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks) dead, a 50-year-old former fire chief (identified as Corey Comperatore) dead, and two others critically injured — the former President strolled into the 2024 RNC (Republican National Convention) with his right ear bandaged while the patriotic tune of ‘God Bless the USA’ played as he entered the venue. As he stood next to his newly announced Vice President J.D. Vance, the crowd burst into applause and began chanting: “USA, USA, USA.”

Trump had revealed on social media that he had chosen Ohio Senator J. D Vance as his vice-presidential running mate. “After much consideration and weighing up the immense talents of many others, I have decided that the person best suited to take on the role of Vice President of the United States is Senator J.D. Vance from the great state of Ohio,” Trump shared on Truth Social. “J.D. served our country honourably in the Marine Corps, graduated from Ohio State University in two years, Summa Cum Laude, and is a Yale Law School Graduate, where he was Editor of The Yale Law Journal, and President of the Yale Law Veterans Association.”

Vance, a newcomer to Congress, secured his seat with Trump’s backing, which proved instrumental in his victory in the challenging 2022 race. Despite his public criticism of Trump in 2016, six years later, Trump openly mocked him but still endorsed him in the 2022 election. The decision significantly boosts Vance’s profile, who has adopted the former president’s populist agenda after years of vehement criticism of Trump.

In the Senate, Vance has been an outspoken supporter of Trump, often voting in line with the former president’s interests. He opposed a Ukrainian aid bill earlier this year, mirroring Trump’s scepticism about additional funding. He shares a close bond with Donald Trump Jr.

President Joe Biden has however dialed down his campaigns admitting that he was wrong on claims that the former president be put in the “bullseye” and on the other hand the sitting president defended his rhetoric viewing the Republican predecessor as a threat to democracy.

Political violence cuts across the developed and the developing nations and its consequences are distressing however in America various assassination attempts have been witnessed dating back President Ronald Reagan, who was shot by John Hinckley Jr in 1981, so it is important to contextualize what makes the assassination attempt unique and unprecedented in American history. In reality, every president since Reagan has faced attempted assassinations of some sort.

President Joe Biden also faced significant security threats in 2020 after authorities arrested — and held without bail — a 19-year-old found with “four rifles, a 9mm handgun, explosive materials [and] books on bomb making” who posted memes about whether he should kill Biden and had searched for the then-candidate’s home address online.

At this point, the shooter’s motivation remains unclear with Trump’s supporters blaming Biden for political rhetoric that labelled Trump an existential threat to America. President Joe Biden has however urged Americans to “lower the temperature” in a rare Oval Office speech on Sunday after the Trump shooting.

“There’s no place in America for this kind of violence,” the president said. “It’s sick. It’s sick. That’s one of the reasons why we have to unite this country. You cannot allow for this to be happening. We cannot be like this. We cannot condone this.”

Meanwhile, the FBI announced they have accessed the phone of attacker Thomas Matthew Crooks, but they have yet to determine a motive for the shooting. CBS also reported that Crooks’ father contacted the police following the shooting. The details and timing of the call are still unclear.

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