“It’s nothing short of miraculous.” Reflections on the attempted assassination of former President Trump

Donald Trump wrote on his social medial platform TruthSocial yesterday that it was “God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening,” allowing him to survive Saturday’s assassination attempt. The Wall Street Journal editorial board similarly wrote, “It’s nothing short of miraculous that Mr. Trump avoided death by a literal inch.” According to the New York Times, the picture of the bloodied former president, his fist raised, flanked by an American flag, is “already the indelible image of our era of political crisis and conflict.” If political rhetoric was in fact a motivating factor for the shooter, the tragedy further demonstrates the power of hateful speech to incite hateful actions.