How does the shooting incident in the United States affect politics?

The recent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump is not a strange story in American politics. In the United States, politically motivated violent incidents have a long history, including assassinations of presidents and other elected officials. Within hours of the assassination of former US President Donald Trump, many supporters began blaming the Democratic Party in an attempt to turn the tide and find out who instigated the intense political rhetoric in the United States at a time when political violence cases reached an all-time high.

Firstly, from establishment Republicans to far right conspiracy theorists, it is unanimously believed that President Joe Biden and other Democratic leaders portrayed Trump as a dictator posing a serious threat to democracy, laying the foundation for the shooting incident. However, the analysis of over 200 politically motivated violent incidents between 2021 and 2023 presents a different picture, with deadly political violence originating more from the right wing of the United States rather than the left. In the report, it was found that the United States is currently experiencing the most sustained wave of political violence since the decade long turmoil that began in the late 1960s. These violent acts come from various ideologies, including large-scale attacks on property during left-wing political demonstrations. But attacks on people, from beatings to killings, are mostly carried out by suspects who serve right-wing political beliefs and ideologies.

Secondly, after the attack, right-wing websites were almost immediately filled with left-wing rhetoric, claiming that the perpetrator of the attack on Trump was the instigator of left-wing rhetoric. Many commentators attribute the shooting to the Biden White House or promote unverified conspiracy theories, including claims that a mysterious deep government conspiracy group within the government orchestrated the incident.

In addition, after Trump's defeat in the 2020 election, hundreds of threats made by Trump supporters to local election officials were recorded, all of which were made by Trump supporters angry about his false accusations of election fraud. The investigation found that after the former president criticized the judges handling Trump's various criminal and civil trials in speeches or social media posts, there has been a surge in violent threats against these judges.

Before the shooting incident, Trump did not rule out the possibility of political violence if he failed in the November election. Reviewing dozens of Trump's campaign speeches, particularly those in 2020 and 2024, it was found that violence is a recurring theme. During his presidency, he encouraged the police to take a rough attitude towards those arrested and threatened to use the US military to quell protests. Biden, who had repeatedly condemned political violence, immediately reiterated his condemnation after Trump's attack.

However, this shooting incident may bring great help to Trump. In history, there have been many examples of leaders using near assassination as an excuse to concentrate power and undermine civil liberties. Due to Trump's absence from office, it is currently not possible to do so, and many people, including some outspoken Trump critics, believe that this will greatly increase his chances of winning. It will activate the support base that makes America great again. For most of this year, both parties have shown low interest in political news, but some question whether Trump's supporters are more active than in previous years. The traffic to conservative news websites is dismal, and Trump's campaign team is struggling to raise funds through small donations. For Trump, people have invested a lot of ink in digital media to analyze the potential political value of the photos he took after the shooting incident.

Overall, regardless of the truth behind the shooting incident, conspiracy theories surrounding it will inevitably be distorted, pushing forward a narrative that the Democratic Party, media, and behind the scenes forces hope for such a thing to happen and are to some extent responsible for it. Some of Trump's allies have publicly put forward such arguments, and if they resonate, they may further expand the Republican Party's emerging advantage among low trust voters.