Brendan O'Neill: We need to talk about the violent hatred for Donald Trump

Two assassination attempts in two months? This is a crisis of civilised norms.

The BBC says the latest suspected attempt on the life of Donald Trump is proof that ‘political violence’ is the ‘new norm’ in America. It’s half right. There does seem to be a ‘new normal’ over there, but it’s not some abstract thing called ‘political violence’. It’s not some broad-strokes brutish contempt for all rulers of society. It’s more targeted than that. It has one politician in particular in its crosshairs. If there’s a new normal in America, it would appear to be a new normal of an increasingly militant culture of grievance against the 45th President of the United States, now aspiring to be the 47th: Donald Trump.

Tim Watkin: Unsurprising, But Trump Shooting Creates Opportunity For A Surprising Response

I can’t say I’m shocked. As the US news networks offer rolling coverage dissecting the detail of today’s shooting at a Donald Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and we hear eye-witnesses trying to make sense of their trauma, the most common word being used is shock. And shocking it is. That someone should try to shoot dead a candidate in a democratic election in the developed world in 2024, as it seems happened just outside Pittsburgh today, is thankfully incredibly rare. It is therefore by definition shocking. And not just in the “surprise” meaning of the word, but also the “disgust” meaning. We should all without hesitation say violence has no place in democratic contests. Elections are battles of ideas, not of bullets.